George Santos decisively not expelled from Congress

The embattled Rep. George Santos has lived to embellish and lie another day – no thanks to his fellow first-term New York colleagues who fought hard to convince their colleagues that the lawmaker’s lies and federal indictment were enough to justify ousting him.

Not long after Rep. Anthony D'Esposito introduced a resolution to expel Santos, House lawmakers convened Wednesday night to vote on whether they would kick the Long Island Republican out of Congress following his indictment on corruption charges. But in the end, Santos easily survived with 179 members voting for expulsion and 213 opposing it. More than 30 Democrats even voted against expelling him.

The expulsion vote faced long odds from the onset. Expelling Santos would require a two-thirds majority, meaning every Democrat would have needed to vote in favor of doing so as would dozens of Republicans. With Republicans clinging to only a narrow majority in the House, that was unlikely to happen as Santos’ vote remained key to the party’s agenda. A number of lawmakers have also expressed concerns that removing Santos before a criminal proceeding or a House Ethics Committee report would only set a dangerous precedent. 

Santos’ fellow first-term New York Republicans elected to represent more vulnerable swing seats, however, have eagerly attempted to distance themselves from their colleague. Reps. D'Esposito, Reps. Nick LaLota, Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams have led efforts to expel Santos, all of whom signed a new letter urging their Republican colleagues to vote yes while describing the matter as “not a political one but a moral one.” Rep. Nick Langworthy also joined the five lawmakers in voting for Santos’ expulsion. Every other New York Republican voted against the resolution save for Rep. Andrew Garbarino who didn’t vote.

On the House floor ahead of the vote, D'Esposito, LaLota, Lawler, and lone Democrat Dan Goldman took turns slamming Santos’ conduct. 

“Mr. Santos has said expelling him before he is formally charged and found guilty would create a new precedent in this body, one that could have negative consequences for generations,” LaLota said. “I disagree. The consequences and precedents of not expelling him for his lies and fraud has the potential to do far more damage to this institution.”

Santos, who maintains his innocence, urged lawmakers to hold off on expulsion, arguing that he deserves due process.

“I’m about to go on the floor to debate my expulsion. To all whom who’ve asked, I’m fine and calm,” he tweeted Wednesday evening ahead of the vote. “God does not give each of us a burden heavier than we can carry. I’ll defend myself as best I can and stand up for my constitutional rights to due process and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. This is not nearly the end of the road for me. God bless all!”

The race to unseat Santos in 2024 is already well underway.