Republican George Santos faces expulsion vote in US House
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on Wednesday on whether to expel Republican Congressman George Santos after he was indicted on corruption charges, a highly unusual move that could erode his party's narrow majority.
The 35-year-old New York lawmaker on Oct. 27 pleaded not guilty to a 23-count federal indictment accusing him of crimes including laundering funds to pay for his personal expenses, illegally receiving unemployment benefits and charging donors' credit cards without their consent.
«I must warn my colleagues that voting for expulsion at this point would circumvent the judicial system's right to due process that I'm entitled to and desanctify the long-held premise that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty,» Santos said ahead of the vote.
It requires a vote by two-thirds of the chamber to expel a lawmaker. Only five people have been expelled from the House in the country's history, three for fighting against the U.S. government in the Civil War.
Expelling the first-term lawmaker would further imperil Republicans' narrow 221-212 majority, as a replacement would be selected in a special election. Santos represents a small slice of New York City and parts of its eastern suburbs. Nonpartisan election forecasters say Democrats could recapture the seat.
Republican lawmakers from Santos' state of New York said last month they would introduce a resolution to expel Santos, but the move was delayed by weeks when the House was leaderless following the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Republicans on Oct. 25 elected Mike Johnson, who has said he does not support expelling Santos for being charged with a crime, to succeed McCarthy.
Santos has been ensnared in controversy since
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