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)
Reps. Nikema Williams (Ga.) and Bobby Scott (Va.) voted against expelling the congressman, while Reps. Jonathan Jackson (Ill.) and Al Green (Texas) voted “present.”
George Santos is defending his party's vice presidential nominee, JD Vance, arguing that just because he donned a wig and a dress at a costume party doesn't mean he was doing drag.
Speaking with the FOX Corporation-owned celebrity news outlet TMZ, the disgraced former Republican U.S. Congressman sought to dispel the notion that Vance was dressed in drag when he was photographed, twice, wearing a blond wig, a black blouse with a flowered skirt, chunky jewelry, and a purse for a Halloween party he attended while studying at Yale Law School.
Santos compared the Vance photos to a similar situation that he personally faced last year, when he was accused of being a drag queen by people on the political Left after a former friend leaked a photo of him, dressed as his drag alter ego, Kitara Ravache, at a Pride Parade when he was 16 or 17.
Right-wing pundit Matt Walsh blasted the Republicans' decision to grant a speaking slot on the first night of the Republican National Convention to model, rapper, and television personality Amber Rose.
Walsh, a far-right influencer with his own podcast who has become known for his doctrinaire social conservatism, attacked the choice of Rose as a messenger for the party.
He noted that the bisexual, biracial influencer has previously expressed support for abortion, has an OnlyFans page, and was the founder of the Los Angeles chapter of the "SlutWalk" protest march, which calls for an end to "rape culture."
George Santos, the former U.S. Congressman from New York exiled from Congress in December, urged fellow gay conservatives attending the Republican National Convention to come out of the closet in a video on X.
Santos appeared to be basing his statements on an X post from The Halfway Post, a satirical news website, which claimed that executives for the gay hookup app Grindr had called the Republican National Convention "Grindr's Super Bowl."
"So Grindr executives are calling the RNC convention 'Grindr's Super Bowl,'" Santos said in the video. "Folks, look, I'm openly gay, no qualms about it, proud conservative Republican. I met my husband on Grindr, and we've been together for six years, going on seven, been married for almost three.
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