By Randy Bracht | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse and eight Democratic members from Washington state’s congressional delegation voted with the House majority Friday to expel U.S. Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., from Congress.
Newhouse, from the Yakima Valley, is one of two Republicans from eastern Washington serving in the House. The other, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Spokane, did not participate in Friday’s vote. A spokesperson for her office said she had a family obligation.
Newhouse’s office did not reply to an email from The Center Square seeking comment regarding his vote.
Washington state’s eight other congressional delegates, all Democrats, voting for Santos’ removal were Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Marilyn Strickland.
“Multiple investigations have shown in great detail that George Santos is a liar & a fraud. He does not belong in the halls of Congress. That’s why I voted to expel him from the House,” DelBene said in a Facebook post Friday.
The 35-year-old Santos, elected in 2022, was ousted in a bipartisan vote, 311-114. That was more than the two-thirds majority required by the Constitution and made him only the sixth person in the history of the House to be expelled. Santos has pled not guilty to 23 criminal counts pending in federal court and was the subject of a sharply critical House Ethics Committee report issued last month alleging he had broken the law and misused his congressional office for personal gain.
House Resolution 878, which called for Santos’ expulsion, was introduced on Nov. 17 by Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., who chairs the ethics committee.
“The evidence uncovered in the Ethics Committee’s Investigative Subcommittee investigation is more than sufficient to warrant punishment and the most appropriate punishment, is expulsion. So, separate from the Committee process and my role as Chairman, I have filed an expulsion resolution,” Guest wrote in a Nov. 17 statement.
In Friday’s tally, 105 Republicans joined with 206 Democrats in voting to approve the resolution while 112 Republicans and two Democrats were opposed. Two members, both Democrats, voted “present” and eight, including McMorris Rodgers, did not vote.
Santos’ removal narrows GOP control of the House by eight, 221-213, over Democrats.
During his campaign and short time in the House, Santos made numerous false or dubious claims about his work and employment history, college education, financial status, family background and more. Prior to expulsion, Santos said he would not run for re-election in 2024.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she will schedule a special election, likely in February, for Santos’ interim successor representing the state’s 3rd District, which includes Long Island and Queens. The seat’s full two-year term will be up for election later in the year.
