George Santos not expelled from Congress: How many times has a House member been voted out?

George Santos gets to stay in the House of Representatives, for now at least, after a second attempt brought to the floor for a vote to remove him failed to pass. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were shocked when dozens of House Democrats voted against expelling the congressman from New York’s 3rd District.

Even without those votes, there still wouldn’t have been enough Republican votes to oust him. Just 24 Republicans voted in favor of removing the beleaguered congressman. That is far short of the roughly 75 votes from GOP members, along with every Democrat, to meet the two thirds majority threshold needed.

Santos is facing two federal indictments with a total of 23 criminal counts and a House ethics investigation. The controversies and legal jeopardy surrounding the serial fabulist include aggravated identity theft, credit card fraud, conspiracy, false statements, falsification of records, lying to Congress, money laundering and theft of public funds.

He has vowed to “fight until the bitter end” denying any wrongdoing.

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Why did Democrats vote against ousting George Santos

Democrats made their own motion to expel Santos in May, but in a party-line vote Republicans instead referred the matter to the House Ethics Committee. At the time, a fellow Republican New York congressman Rep. Nick LaLota expected that there would be a result from the investigation into “the sociopath scam artist” within 60 days and that he’d be gone before the August recess.

In a statement to Axios GOP Rep. Andrew Garbarino, a member of the Ethics Committee and also from New York said that “no previous vote for expulsion of a Member from the House has occurred without an accompanying report from the Ethics Committee” or some other panel. That or being convicted of serious criminal offenses.

These were some of the concerns expressed by Democrats that voted against ousting Santos in the second attempt. “It’s a very risky road to go down and we have to stick by due process and the rule of law, as obvious as the eventual result seems,” said Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin. “If and when Santos is convicted of these serious criminal offenses or ethics charges, I will certainly vote to expel.”

When will the House Ethics Committee release a report on George Santos?

The 60-day target for the Ethics Committee to wrap up its investigation has long passed but while seen as realistic by some was seen as overly optimistic by others. On Tuesday, the committee said that its “next course of action” would be announced on or before 17 November.

How many times has a House member been voted out?

There have only been five members of the House of Representatives who have been expelled, and three of these expulsions occurred in the year 1861, with only two taking place in recent history.

Here are the five members who were removed from the House:

John Bullock Clark (1861) was a representative from Missouri who was expelled for his support of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

John W. Reid (1861) was also expelled for disloyalty to the Union and fighting for the confederacy.

Henry C. Burnett (1861), like Clark and Reid, was ousted for disloyalty to the Union and his support for the Confederacy.

Michael J. Myers (1980) of Pennsylvania was expelled for his involvement in the Abscam scandal, a federal corruption investigation involving bribes to public officials.

James A. Traficant (2002) of Ohio was expelled following his conviction on charges of bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion.