US House votes down motion to remove Republican George Santos

US House votes down motion to remove Republican George Santos.
George Santos has entered a not-guilty plea to a range of charges.

Santos cautioned his colleagues against supporting expulsion.

A motion to oust Republican Congressman George Santos from the U.S. House of Representatives was unsuccessful on Wednesday, as it fell short of the required two-thirds majority vote, preserving the Republicans’ narrow 221-212 majority.

The 35-year-old representative from New York, George Santos, has entered a not-guilty plea to a range of charges, including money laundering for personal expenses, wrongful receipt of unemployment benefits, and unauthorized credit card charges on donors.

His campaign’s former treasurer pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge on October 5, admitting to inflating fundraising figures.

Santos cautioned his colleagues against supporting expulsion, emphasizing that it could undermine his right to due process and the longstanding principle of “innocent until proven guilty” in anticipation of the vote.

Expelling a lawmaker necessitates a two-thirds majority vote, and in the history of the United States, only five individuals have been expelled from the House, three of them during the Civil War for their opposition to the government.

Santos represents a small district in New York City and some of its eastern suburbs. Nonpartisan election analysts had suggested that Democrats could have a chance to reclaim the seat.

Republican lawmakers from New York had previously announced their intention to introduce a resolution for Santos’s expulsion, but the process was delayed due to the House’s leadership vacuum following the removal of Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Republicans elected Mike Johnson, who expressed his lack of support for expelling Santos based on the criminal charges on October 25.

Santos has been embroiled in controversy since his election last year, facing allegations of embellishing his background during the campaign.

One of the Republican lawmakers backing the expulsion resolution, Anthony D’Esposito, stated on the House floor, “Mr. Santos is a disgrace to this institution and unfit to represent his constituents in the House of Representatives.”

Santos’s trial is set for September 9, 2024, shortly before the crucial elections that will determine control of the White House and both congressional chambers.

The House Ethics Committee is also investigating allegations related to Santos. The investigative subcommittee has contacted 40 witnesses, reviewed over 170,000 pages of documents, and authorized 37 subpoenas. The committee will announce its next steps by November 17.

The House voted in a bipartisan manner, 222-186, against a resolution to censure Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who had spoken at a rally calling for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a separate development on the same day.

Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced the censure resolution on October 26, accusing Tlaib of engaging in “antisemitic activity, sympathizing with terrorist organizations, and leading an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Complex.”

Tlaib did not participate in the peaceful demonstration referenced in Greene’s resolution, which occurred in a House office building.

Tlaib responded to the resolution by describing it as “deeply Islamophobic.” Greene had faced bipartisan criticism in 2021 for comparing mask mandates to the badges imposed on Jewish people during the Holocaust by Nazi Germany.

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US House votes down motion to remove Republican George Santos

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