By Ryan Renger
Earlier this morning, in a shocking yet expected vote from the House of Representatives, George Santos, the now former representative from New York, became just the sixth member to be expelled from the House. This comes after a House Ethics report released the week before Thanksgiving gave a damning display of Santos's fraudulent activities and determined that his actions were unbecoming of a member of the House. Santos now has the distinction of being the first member to be expelled without a criminal conviction.
In the past couple of days, before the vote to expel Santos was held, the House had had contentious discussions on whether the Ethics report was enough justification to expel. Numerous Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, opposed the motion and believed it could set bad precedents. No matter the sentiments of these Republicans, the fact stands that after a 311-114-2 vote, Santos will no longer represent the 3rd District of New York. From here, New York Governor Kathy Hocul will have 10 days to call a special election to fill Santos's vacated seat.