In a historic vote, for only the sixth time in history, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to expel one of its own members, U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), for alleged ethical and campaign finance violations.
Santos, the first out gay Republican elected to Congress as a non-incumbent, had predicted his ouster despite mounting a vigorous defense of himself during debate on the floor of the House.
Santos, who faces 23 federal criminal charges, has claimed that the House Ethics Committee rushed its investigation into allegations against him, with the intent of reaching a predetermined conclusion that he was guilty of wrongdoing.
Despite concerns from some lawmakers over the precedent that voting to expel a member who has not yet been convicted might set, and opposition from Republican House leadership, 105 Republicans — or almost half the caucus — voted with 206 Democrats to remove Santos from office.
The Republican members voting for expulsion were:
Robert Aderholt, Alabama (North-Central Alabama)
Rick Allen, Georgia (Augusta, Eastern Georgia)
Mark Amodei, Nevada (Reno, Northern Nevada)
Kelly Armstrong, North Dakota
Troy Balderson, Ohio (Central Ohio)
Andy Barr, Kentucky (Lexington, Central Kentucky)
Cliff Bentz, Oregon (Southern and Eastern Oregon)
Jack Bergman, Michigan (Upper Peninsula)
Don Bacon, Nebraska (Metro Omaha)
Stephanie Bice, Oklahoma (Oklahoma City Metro)
Ken Buck, Colorado (Eastern Plains)
Larry Bucshon, Indiana (Terre Haute, Evansville)
Michael Burgess, Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth exurbs)
Ken Calvert, California (Riverside, Palm Springs)
Mike Carey, Ohio (Columbus Metro, Western Ohio)
Buddy Carter, Georgia (Savannah, Costal Georgia)
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Oregon (Bend, Willamette Valley)
Juan Ciscomani, Arizona (Tucson, Southeast Arizona)
Tom Cole, Oklahoma (Southwestern Oklahoma)
James Comer, Kentucky (Western Kentucky)
Dan Crenshaw, Texas (Suburban Houston)
John Curtis, Utah (Eastern Utah)
Anthony D’Esposito, New York (Long Island)
Monica De La Cruz, Texas (Rio Grande Valley, South Texas)
Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida (Miami-Dade County, Southwestern Florida)
Steve Womack, Arkansas (Rogers, Fayetteville, Fort Smith)
Rudy Yakym III, Indiana (South Bend, North-Central Indiana)
Ryan Zinke, Montana (Glacier Country, Southwest Montana)
On the other side of the aisle, only four Democrats voted against expelling Santos.
Reps. Nikema Williams (Ga.) and Bobby Scott (Va.) voted against expelling the congressman, while Reps. Jonathan Jackson (Ill.) and Al Green (Texas) voted “present.”
Republican lawmakers in Congress are pushing two bills that would restrict teachers from acknowledging transgender identity or discussing gender identity in schools.
The first measure, House Bill 2616 -- dubbed the Parental Rights Over the Education and Care of Their Kids Act, or PROTECT Kids Act -- is being framed as a "parental rights" bill. It would require federally funded public elementary and middle schools to obtain parental consent before changing a student’s gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on official records.
The bill would also require schools to notify parents before allowing transgender students to access sex-segregated spaces, such as locker rooms or restrooms, that do not align with their sex assigned at birth.
U.S. attitudes toward gay marriage, same-sex relations, and transgender identity have continued to decline after reaching peak levels several years ago, according to recent polling.
The backslide in terms of viewing LGBTQ issues in a favorable light has been driven largely by a decrease in pro-LGBTQ views among Republicans, according to Gallup, which surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. adults from May 1 to May 17, 2026.
Starting in 1996, Gallup has annually asked, as part of its Values and Beliefs Survey, whether Americans support same-sex marriage. In the first year, only 27% of U.S. adults said they supported it. That number gradually increased, with significant gains each year after 2010, peaking at 71% in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, support fell to 69% and has continued to decline ever since.
Two LGBTQ congressional candidates in California advanced to the November general election after finishing among the top two vote-getters in their respective races in the state's jungle primary on Tuesday, June 2.
According to results from the Secretary of State's office, with 50% of ballots counted in California's 11th Congressional District race, openly gay State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) led the 11-candidate field with 41% of the vote. San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan (D) was second with 29%, while Democratic Socialist Saikat Chakrabarti finished third with approximately 15%.
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