The House of Representatives voted in favor of expelling New York Rep. George Santos on Friday.
The New York representative faced a series of federal charges including wire fraud and aggravated identity theft among other allegations.
To expel a member of Congress, a majority of two-thirds of the body must vote in favor of removing the member in question. Santos was expelled with a total of 311 House members voting to exepel him and 114 voting against his removal.
House Democrats unanimously voted to remove the New York representative and were joined by 105 Republicans also voting in favor of Santos' expulsion.
Critics of Santos' removal noted the move created a precedent of "guilty until proven innocent" in Congress.
"Should we expel every Congressman that has lied, engaged in insider trading, misused congressional funds, and accepted bribes from foreign countriews?" asked political activist Scott Presler.
Presler also noted Democratic members of Congress had similarly been accused of engaging in similar activities as Santos including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, New York Rep. Yvette Clarke, and embattled New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez.
Santos warned of the precedent his expulsion created in Congress during a Tuesday speech on the House floor.
“This expulsion vote simply undermines and underscores the precedent that we’ve had in this chamber," Santos said. "It puts us in a new direction, a dangerous one that sets a very dangerous precedent."
Santos is the sixth House member to be expelled from Congress in United States history behind Missouri Reps. John Bullock Clark and John William Reid along with Henry Cornelius Burnett in 1862, Pennsylvania Rep. Michael Myers in 1980, and Ohio Rep. Jim Traficant in 2002.
Santos’ integrity was called into question during and after the 2022 midterm election, in which the freshman New York representative won his election and assisted House Republicans in securing a narrow majority over House Democrats.
Following the release of the House Ethics Committee’s report earlier this month, Santos announced he would not seek re-election in 2024.
Last week, Santos insisted he would not resign, though appeared to acknowledge the report’s findings were true.
Santos is the sixth House member to be expelled from Congress in United States history behind Missouri Reps. John Bullock Clark and John William Reid along with Henry Cornelius Burnett in 1862, Pennsylvania Rep. Michael Myers in 1980, and Ohio Rep. Jim Traficant in 2002.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is expected to schedule a special election to replace Santos' seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
