Jesse Scheckner
In just the sixth expulsion of a member in the chamber’s history, the U.S House voted to remove first-term Republican U.S. Rep. George Santos of New York from its ranks.
The vote to expel was 311-114. That included an equal number of Florida lawmakers who voted for and against the measure.
Fourteen legislators from the Sunshine State, including all eight Democrats and six of their GOP colleagues, decided there was enough reason to eject Santos.
Another 14 lawmakers, all of them Republican, voted against the move.
Those voting “yes” included Republican U.S. Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart, Neil Dunn, Scott Franklin, Carlos Giménez, John Rutherford and Daniel Webster, as well as Democratic U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Lois Frankel, Maxwell Frost, Jared Moskowitz, Darren Soto, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Frederica Wilson.
Those voting “no” included Republican U.S. Reps. Aaron Bean, Gus Bilirakis, Vern Buchanan, Kat Cammack, Byron Donalds, Matt Gaetz, Laurel Lee, Anna Paulina Luna, Brian Mast, Cory Mills, Bill Posey, María Elvira Salazar, Greg Steube and Michael Waltz.
Santos’ expulsion came in the wake of a blistering House Ethics Committee report that accused Santos of breaking federal law.
The report, a product of eight months of investigations and witness interviews, led the panel to conclude Santos had knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission, used campaign funds for personal purposes and violated the Ethics in Government Act with his financial disclosure statements.
Separately, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York indicted Santos, accusing him of duping donors, stealing from his campaign and lying to Congress. Prosecutors allege Santos, who has pleaded not guilty, fraudulently wired money from his campaign to his personal bank account and used other misappropriated funds to pad his campaign coffers.
The expulsion push is just the latest chapter in what has been a spectacular fall from grace for Santos, a first-term lawmaker initially celebrated as an up-and-comer after he flipped a district from Democrats last year and helped Republicans win control of the House.
Santos’ troubles began soon after his election as reports emerged that he lied about having Jewish ancestry, a career at top Wall Street firms and a college degree. His presence in the House quickly became a distraction and an embarrassment to his party.
Giménez, who served as Mayor of Miami-Dade County before winning his U.S. House seat in 2020, told CNN Friday that he found the evidence Santos stole money from his contributors to be “pretty overwhelming.”
“To me, that’s one of the cardinal sins of public service,” he said. “You don’t deserve to be a public servant if you’re stealing money from your constituents.”
Donalds, who also earned his seat in 2020 after four years in the Florida Legislature, decried the decision as circumventing due process.
“It’s not the actions of George Santos. It’s the fact that everybody is afforded their day in court, and that was denied to him,” he told CNN. “If that’s going to be the standard in America going forward, I shudder for the future of our country.”
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Material from The Associated Press was used in this report. Republished with permission.
19 comments
Dont Say FLA
December 1, 2023 at 4:55 pm
What skeletons are fixin’a burst out the closets of Aaron Bean, Gus Bilirakis, Vern Buchanan, Kat Cammack, Byron Donalds, Matt Gaetz, Laurel Lee, Anna Paulina Luna, Brian Mast, Cory Mills, Bill Posey, María Elvira Salazar, Greg Steube and Michael Waltz?
Julia
December 1, 2023 at 5:27 pm
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My Take
December 1, 2023 at 5:53 pm
With Looney Luna it may be space alien skeletons.
JD
December 1, 2023 at 8:45 pm
While not pretty and usually where there is smoke, there’s some sort of flame. Digging into any of those finds a lot of accusations.
Aaron Bean: There were no recent accusations or indictments found against Aaron Bean. However, there was a mention of a state ethics panel clearing him in a budget controversy.
Gus Bilirakis: There is information that donors who were indicted had given contributions to his campaign, but no direct accusations or indictments against Bilirakis himself.
Vern Buchanan: He has faced various accusations over the years, including using his congressional office for personal benefit and campaign finance violations. However, an ethics investigation against him was closed without charges.
Byron Donalds: He has admitted to past arrests but claimed he was never “arrested, charged, or indicted” in any jurisdictions. He faced a 1997 marijuana charge, which was dismissed, and pled no contest to bribery in 2000.
Matt Gaetz: He was under investigation for sex-trafficking allegations but will not face federal charges as prosecutors recommended against charging him due to credibility issues with key witnesses.
Laurel Lee: She faced accusations related to investments in Chinese-owned companies, but no indictments or legal charges were mentioned.
Anna Paulina Luna: She was criticized over a report claiming she lied about being Jewish, but no legal accusations or indictments were mentioned.
Brian Mast: Linked to a Florida marketing company under investigation for a patent scam and apologized for inappropriate jokes on Facebook. No formal indictments were mentioned.
Cory Mills: Involved in various controversies, including selling tear gas used against Black Lives Matter protesters, but no formal accusations or indictments were mentioned.
Bill Posey: There were no specific accusations or indictments found against Bill Posey. However, he has been involved in perpetuating baseless fraud claims related to the 2020 U.S. election and sought investigations into election results and accusations of voter fraud.
Kat Cammack: There were no specific accusations or indictments found against Kat Cammack. However, she drew criticism for accusing Democrats of certain actions and repeated a false claim about the Department of Justice.
María Elvira Salazar: She was late in disclosing her spouse’s stock sale, which is an apparent violation of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. She also faced accusations during her Republican primary bid and was criticized for accepting illegal campaign contributions.
Greg Steube: No specific legal accusations or indictments were found against Greg Steube. He is known for voting to overturn the 2020 election results and filed articles of impeachment against President Biden.
Michael Waltz: There were no specific legal accusations or indictments found against Michael Waltz. He is noted for not supporting the impeachment of former President Trump and endorsing Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential campaign
tom palmer
December 1, 2023 at 5:02 pm
Probably not corrupt just party hacks
Ron Forrest Ron
December 1, 2023 at 5:10 pm
Never Back Down PAC is looking to hire. Santos would be a perfect fit with Rhonda and Mrs Rhonda.
Richard C Russell
December 1, 2023 at 5:48 pm
Disgusting, just mere charges are sufficient to convict and evict a person in Congress – America’s system of justice is not EQUAL! And the RINO POS who voted in favor of the eviction should be Primaried out in 2024. If the GOP and their elected members do not stand firmly against the Dems take over, Xi Jinping will be the real benefactor of their despicable decision. What was the rush?
rick whitaker
December 1, 2023 at 7:13 pm
no comment on your ridiculous statement.
PeterH
December 1, 2023 at 7:45 pm
Odd that Republican Richard Nixon opened China to corporate American business investors….. but somehow it’s Democrat’s fault. Let’s keep in mind that:
Republicans are America’s worst enemy!
Vote all Republicans out of office!
Echo
December 2, 2023 at 6:06 am
He stoled money off of credit cards not only from his constituents, but also from his republican colleagues. Particularly Miller and his mother. You can’t make this s*** up. Of course he needs to be out.
Patricia E Harrell
December 1, 2023 at 9:41 pm
This comment is for my representative Scott Franklin I’d hate to have you on my jury if I was charged like Santos he hasn’t been convicted of anything and you just wrote him out
Echo
December 2, 2023 at 6:08 am
The ethics commission did a very thorough investigation. Now, if your co-worker stoled money from you and your mother, do you think they should keep their job? I think not. It’s verifiable what he did. He is stealing money from his own constituents and his own colleagues. He’s a POS and needs to go.
rick whitaker
December 2, 2023 at 9:52 am
patricia if you lied and stole like santos, would you expect to get away with it. your comment seems to be maga based instead of fact or logic based.
Lobe
December 2, 2023 at 5:18 pm
The rest of congress gets away with it!
rick whitaker
December 2, 2023 at 8:57 pm
lobe, put up or shut up. who are you talking about, and what are you accusing them of?
rick whitaker
December 2, 2023 at 9:48 am
why are the maga cultist’ treating the santos expulsion like it was a trial? the trials will come later.
Lobo
December 2, 2023 at 5:17 pm
Once again the republican’ts have proven to be impotent!
Sonja Fitch
December 5, 2023 at 3:14 pm
Thank you Congressman Rutherford! Omg I am thanking another Republican! Hope there are more. As a liberal Democrat I surprise myself everyday! Common Good!
My Take
December 5, 2023 at 11:28 pm
All in all he seems less ďishonest than Trump.
Comments are closed.