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George Santos expelled from House after 311-114 vote
With the House’s final vote being at 311 yays and 114 nays, George Santos has been expelled from the House.
House speaker Mike Johnson said the House clerk will notify New York governor Kathy Hochul on the House’s decision.
Key events
George Santos has departed the US Capitol following his expulsion from the House.
Here is the moment House speaker Mike Johnson announced the final vote on the expulsion of George Santos:
George Santos expelled from House after 311-114 vote
With the House’s final vote being at 311 yays and 114 nays, George Santos has been expelled from the House.
House speaker Mike Johnson said the House clerk will notify New York governor Kathy Hochul on the House’s decision.
The House has passed the 2/3rds majority to expel George Santos.
The current vote is 310 yays and 115 nays.
Voting remains ongoing.
House begins vote on George Santos expulsion
The House has started its vote on whether to expel George Santos from the chamber.
We will bring you the latest updates.
George Santos ahead of House vote: ‘Nobody can question my ethics’
Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, George Santos said: “All of the work I’ve done in this body has been above board.”
He added:
“Nobody can question my ethics and conduct in Congress, unlike some of my colleagues who are on drunken tirades going after their former staff but I’m the one being pinned for all of this nonsense.”
Georgia’s Republican representative Mike Collins said on Thursday that he will “not vote to alter precedent and circumvent the will of the People.”
He went on to add:
“The voters of NY-03 have the sole right to choose who represents them in Congress, just like the voters of GA-10.
Let me know when the House can get back to focusing on securing the border and drilling oil on American soil.”
In the days leading up to the House vote, George Santos has repeatedly claimed that efforts to expel him would set a precedent that would “haunt” House members where “mere allegations are sufficient enough to have members removed from office.”
Ahead of the House vote on George Santos’s expulsion, Florida’s Republican representative Maria Salazar told MSNBC:
“I know that the charges against him are despicable but who am I to say ‘out’? The constituents are the ones who are going to kick him out in November, or not.
Meanwhile, Utah’s Republican representative John Curtis told MSNBC “yes” in response to whether he will vote to expel Santos today.
Tennessee’s Democratic representative Steve Cohen has called George Santos a “shameless liar who is a disgrace to mankind.”
Cohen’s comments come as the House convenes to vote – for the third time – on Santos’s expulsion.
Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to be appointed to the supreme court, has died at 93-years old, the court announced on Friday.
O’Connor was appointed to the court by then-president Ronald Reagan in 1981 and retired in 2006.
Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise opposed to expulsion vote, reports say
CNN’s Haley Talbot reports that House speaker Mike Johnson will not vote to expel George Santos today.
Louisiana’s Republican representative Steve Scalise said that he is also against the vote, according to Talbot.
New York’s Republican representative Marc Molinaro would not say whether he is confident that the House will have enough votes to expel George Santos, CNN’s Manu Raju reports.
According to Raju, Molinaro said that they are “closing in” and the vote will be “tight.”
Former Santos staffer says ex-boss ‘not a victim’
Speaking to CNN on Thursday, George Santos’s former communications director Naysa Woomer said Santos is “not a victim…this is an issue that was of his own making.”
Woomer, who resigned from Santos’s team in May after Santos was indicted on wire fraud and money laundering charges, added:
“If we’re looking to earn the trust back of the American people, let this serve as an example by expelling someone who is truly unfit to serve.”
During Thursday’s House debate on George Santos’s expulsion, Florida’s Republican representative Matt Gaetz came to Santos’s defense, saying:
“Whatever Mr. Santos did with Botox or OnlyFans is far less concerning to me than the indictment against senator Menendez who’s holding gold bars inscribed with Arabic on them from Egypt while he is still getting classified briefings.”
Gaetz referred to New Jersey’s Democratic senator Bob Menendez who was charged in October with conspiring to act as a foreign agent on behalf of Egypt. Menendez has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The House vote on George Santos’s expulsion is expected to take place at 10:30am ET today.
George Santos to face House vote on resolution to expel him
The House is set to vote on the expulsion of George Santos, the disgraced New York Republican representative who has been indicted on charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
The House vote follows a report released by the House ethics committee earlier this month which detailed “pervasive fraud” and alleged Santos used campaign funds on various personal gains including Botox, OnlyFans and luxury brands.
In a fiery press conference on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Santos denied all charges. He went on to claim that efforts to expel him would set a precedent which would “haunt [House members] in the future where mere allegations are sufficient to have members removed from office when duly elected by their people.”
“If I leave, they win. If I leave, the bullies take place. This is bullying,” he added.
During a House debate on his expulsion yesterday, Santos said that he would not resign, saying, “Take the vote. I am at peace.”
Friday’s vote is set to mark the House’s third vote on Santos’s expulsion.
Here are other developments in US politics:
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Donald Trump has renewed his attacks on the wife of the judge in his $250m New York civil fraud case after an appellate court reinstated a gag order on him and his team.
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California governor Gavin Newsom and Florida governor Ron DeSantis went head to head in a debate on Wednesday evening, clashing over crime, abortion and guns.
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Oregon’s Democratic senator Ron Wyden said on Thursday that he will block a Senate vote on the new National Security Agency leader until the NSA releases information on its practice of purchasing and using data location collected on Americans, Politico reports.
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