WASHINGTON — Most of the elected officials in the U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday to expel Republican Rep. George Santos of New York from Congress. Santos was expelled in a 311-144 vote after a critical ethics report on his conduct accused him of converting campaign donations for his own use.
Nearly all of the elected officials from North Carolina voted to expel Santos. Dan Bishop and Patrick McHenry, both Republicans from the greater Charlotte area, voted to not expel Santos. They were joined by South Carolina Republicans Joe Wilson, William Timmons IV, Ralph Norman, Nancy Mace in voting against the expulsion.
Here is how North Carolina's representatives voted, according to C-SPAN:
- Murphy R-NC, Yea
- Foxx R-NC, Yea
- Rouzer R-NC, Yea
- Bishop R-NC, Nay
- Hudson R-NC, Yea
- McHenry R-NC, Nay
- Edwards R-NC, Yea
- Davis D-NC, Yea
- Ross D-NC, Yea
- Foushee D-NC, Yea
- Manning D-NC, Yea
- Adams D-NC, Yea
- Nickel D-NC, Yea
- Jackson D-NC, Yea
Here is how South Carolina's representatives voted, according to C-SPAN:
- Clyburn D-SC, Yea
- Duncan R-SC, Nay
- Mace R-SC, Nay
- Norman R-SC, Nay
- Timmons R-SC, Nay
- Wilson R-SC, Nay
Expulsion requires support from two-thirds of the House, a purposefully high bar, but a blistering House Ethics Committee report that accused Santos of breaking federal law proved decisive. Santos is just the sixth member in the chamber's history to be ousted by colleagues.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: George Santos expelled from Congress
Santos fought the expulsion effort leading up to the vote, leading his own defense during House floor debate and in conducting a press conference and interviews.
“I will not stand by quietly,” Santos declared as lawmakers debated his removal the evening before the vote. “The people of the Third District of New York sent me here. If they want me out, you’re going to have to go silence those people and go take the hard vote.”
Rep. Jackson (D-NC) issued the following statement regarding the vote:
“In voting to protect an obvious fraud like George Santos - even after a bipartisan Ethics investigation found overwhelming evidence - Dan Bishop is caving to political corruption. This was an easy call and Dan Bishop got it wrong.”
Rep. Duncan (R-SC), who voted Nay on the issue, stated via X:
Rep. Mace (R-SC) also issued a statement via Twitter: