The House is set to meet on Friday morning to determine the fate of one of its most notorious figures, Rep. George Santos (R-NY), and whether the New York Republican will be able to finish out the rest of his term.
Lawmakers will reconvene around 10:30 a.m. on Friday to vote on the expulsion measure, which would immediately remove Santos from office and trigger a special election process to replace him for the rest of his term. Those who have pushed for his expulsion expressed confidence the measure would pass with flying colors, but that prediction has since become less clear after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told the Washington Examiner he would vote against the effort — possibly swaying GOP members who were undecided to follow his lead.
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Johnson’s comments mark the first time the speaker has come out openly against Santos’s expulsion, although the Republican leader told reporters earlier this week he had “real reservations” about ousting the first-term incumbent.
Shortly after Johnson said he’d vote against the expulsion, several other members of Republican leadership, such as House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), came out against the effort. Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) also plans to vote against the motion, a source familiar told the Washington Examiner.
The vote on Friday marks the third expulsion attempt Santos must face on the floor. If expelled, Santos would become only the sixth lawmaker to be removed from the House in United States history. He would be the first Republican member and the first to be expelled without a federal conviction or serving in the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Expulsion is the harshest form of punishment a lawmaker can receive from his or her colleagues, making it rare to come by in the lower chamber. The last lawmaker to be removed in this way was more than 20 years ago when House lawmakers voted to expel former Rep. James Traficant (D-OH) in 2002.
Santos has pointed to his lack of criminal conviction as evidence the expulsion efforts against him are politically motivated and fail to follow the rule of law. Some Republicans have also cited his lack of conviction as a reason not to support the measure, arguing it would set a dangerous precedent.
However, some Republicans pushed back against that notion, arguing the only precedent Santos’s removal would set is holding members “to a higher standard.”
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“The American people expect us to do the right thing. The American people are watching for us to do the right thing,” said Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), one of the New York Republicans leading the charge to oust Santos. “If we have an opportunity in this great institution to start a new precedent — on that means we hold members of the House of Representatives to a higher standard — I’m pretty confident that the American people would applaud that. I’m pretty confident that the American people expect that.”
In order to be expelled, the resolution must garner two-thirds support from the House, meaning 290 lawmakers must back the measure if all members are voting. Both Democratic and Republican leaders have said they would not encourage their party members to vote one way or the other.
