U.S. Rep. George Santos was ousted from the House of Representatives in a 311 to 114 vote after a House Ethics Committee report found "substantial evidence" that Santos broke the law.
The bipartisan effort — which included eight Georgia representatives — cleared the 2/3 majority need to remove the New York representatives from Congress, making Santos only the sixth person to be ousted from the House.
Across Congress, just over 51% of the republican caucus voted against Santos. Georgia Republicans voted roughly in line with the party. Around 55% of Georgia's Republican representatives voted to oust the New York congressman.
Democrats nearly unanimously voted to remove Santos from office with only two congresspeople voting against removing Santos. That's only 0.9% of the Democratic caucus voting to keep Santos in Congress.
Out of the seven votes cast by Alabama lawmakers, only two voted for Santos' removal: Robert Aderholt (Haleyville) and Terri Sewell (Birmingham).
Jerry Carl (Mobile), Barry Moore (Enterprise), Gary Palmer (Hoover), Mike Rogers (Weaver), and Dale Strong (Huntsville), voted against the expulsion.
Reaction
Congressman Aderholt released the following statement following the vote:
“Voting to expel a member of Congress is a very solemn action that I do not take lightly. Many of my Republican colleagues voted no, and I understand how they could come to that conclusion, especially in light of the fact that since the Civil War, the House has not voted to expel a Member of Congress that has not been convicted of a crime. Each member had to review the facts and come to their own conclusion. That being said, as I reviewed the House Ethics Committee written report with all the charges that were made against him, George Santos was given multiple opportunities to defend himself and explain the allegations that were made against him, yet he refused.
“I believe the situation Congressman Santos finds himself in rose to the level that he should no longer be serving in the House of Representatives. While George Santos is a fellow Republican, and the Republican majority will now be less, I don’t believe that even a slim majority should excuse such gross unethical conduct. Politics should not be considered in such a matter. Moreover, I also had to ask myself if a member from the other side of the aisle was facing the same or similar situation, would I vote to expel and I found myself reaching the same conclusion. Members of Congress must be held to the highest standards. This was an unprecedented situation, and, I believe, required this unprecedented action.”