Controversial Rep. George Santos (R-New York) has been expelled from Congress, with a two-thirds bipartisan majority of the House concluding that his ethics violations and criminal indictments warranted his ouster. He is the first member of Congress to be formally expelled since 2002, and the first without a criminal conviction since the Civil War.
All 12 of New Jersey’s U.S. House members voted in support of the expulsion resolution, including three – Reps. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City), Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), and Chris Smith (R-Manchester) – who voted against a previous expulsion effort last month. A fourth, Rep. Donald Norcross (D-Camden), had voted “present” on that earlier resolution.
Asked what changed in the month since then, Norcross’s answer was simple: the scathing House Ethics Committee report that was released on November 16 finding that there was “substantial evidence” Santos had committed campaign finance violations and other improper acts.
“Certainly, the recommendation from the bipartisan chairman and the ranking member, and the facts that were laid out, [changed things],” Norcross said. “We were waiting for that report or a conviction to come in, and this one came first.”
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