众议院共和党领导人周三避免就共和党众议员乔治·桑托斯(George Santos)是否应该被驱逐进行正式表决，而是举行投票，将民主党提出的决议提交众议院道德委员会。
众议院以221票对204票通过了共和党的动议，七名议员出席投票。
众议院道德委员会的所有五名共和党人都投票赞成这项动议，而该委员会的民主党人都在场投票。民主党众议员克里斯·胡拉汉。和玛丽·格鲁森坎普·佩雷斯。，也投了在场票。
纽约州共和党众议员安东尼·德·埃斯波西托(Anthony D'Esposito)代表桑托斯附近的一个地区，他在一次言辞激烈的演讲中提出了这项动议，谴责桑托斯是“这个机构的一个污点，这个国家的一个污点”纽约这是长岛的一个污点，也是心爱的拿骚郡的一个污点。"
“我个人支持将这个人驱逐出这栋房子，”德·埃斯波西托说说在周三的发言中。“但遗憾的是，据我所知，我们目前没有获得众议院议员三分之二的支持来驱逐那个人。”
加州民主党众议员罗伯特·加西亚提出一项决议将桑托斯驱逐出议院。但预计共和党人不会对该决议进行投票，此前众议院议长凯文·麦卡锡周二表示，他将举行投票，将该决议提交给众议院道德委员会，该委员会一直在对Santos进行调查。
麦卡锡周二在新闻发布会上说:“我认为我们可以很快看到这一点，并通过道德，一个安全的两党委员会，共和党和民主党人数相等，得出乔治·桑托斯做了什么和没有做什么的结论，我认为这是当你把它带回国会的时候，如果它上升到能力。”
众议院民主党领袖指示他们的成员投票反对将该决议提交给众议院道德委员会。加西亚说，他驱逐桑托斯的决议是为了让共和党人记录在案。
“还没有行动，所以现在是确保共和党人记录在案的适当时机，如果他们真的要袖手旁观一个连续说谎者和骗子的话。他们必须记录投票，美国人民将会关注他们的投票。
桑托斯说3月，他将“100%”遵守，一天后，众议院道德委员会一致投票成立一个“调查小组委员会”调查对桑托斯的指控。
在周三的投票后，桑托斯告诉记者，他认为将该决议提交给道德委员会是最好的解决办法。
“我有权利保护自己，这是宪法赋予的权利，我会这样做，我也期待这样做。我期待看到这一过程的结束，”桑托斯在一次临时新闻发布会上对美国广播公司说，该新闻发布会被议员的诘问打断。
“我认为这对我们所有人来说都是正确的决定，我期待着继续为自己辩护。再次声明，在被证明有罪之前是无辜的。这是我们所有人的权利，”他说。
当被问及如果道德委员会建议，他是否会辞职时，他说，“当然。”
桑托斯还声称，尽管受到多重调查，他仍在努力工作。
众议院道德小组委员会一直在审查的指控包括桑托斯是否“在2022年的国会竞选中从事非法活动;未能适当披露提交给众议院的报表中的必要信息;在一家提供信托服务的公司中，违反了联邦利益冲突法;和/或对在他的国会办公室求职的个人进行不正当的性行为，”根据众议院道德委员会的新闻稿。
这位国会议员此前承认在他的部分背景上撒了谎，特别是关于大学毕业的事——他没有——但他坚持认为他的行为类似于例行的简历修饰。他否认了对不正当性行为的指控或者任何犯罪行为。
纽约东区的联邦检察官表示，桑托斯上周受到13项刑事指控，包括7项电信欺诈罪、3项洗钱罪、1项盗窃公共资金罪和2项向众议院做出重大虚假陈述罪。
男性不服罪所有指控。
20名国会议员被开除，其中17人是因为在1861年和1862年支持南部邦联。美国历史上只有五名众议员被驱逐。
House votes to send Santos expulsion resolution to ethics panel instead; rep declares him 'a stain'
House Republican leaders on Wednesday avoided an on-the-record vote on whether GOP Rep. George Santos should be expelled, instead holding a vote to move the Democratic-proposed resolution to the House Ethics Committee.
The full House adopted the Republican motion by a party-line vote of 221-204, with seven members voting present.
All five Republicans on the House Ethics Committee voted in favor of the motion, while the Democrats on the committee all voted present. Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., also voted present.
Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, R-N.Y., who represents a district that neighbors Santos', offered the motion to refer in a blistering speech that condemned Santos as "a stain on this institution, a stain on the state ofNew York, a stain on Long Island and a stain on the beloved Nassau County."
"I am personally in favor of this individual's expulsion from this House," D'Espositosaidin a floor speech Wednesday. "Regrettably, though, I'm in the understanding that we currently do not have the two-thirds support from members in this House to expel that individual."
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., offereda resolutionto expel Santos from the chamber. But Republicans weren't expected to vote on the resolution after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday he would hold a vote to refer the resolution to the House Ethics Committee, which has been conducting their own investigation into Santos.
"I think we can look at this very quickly and come to a conclusion on what George Santos did and did not do through Ethics, a safe bipartisan committee, equal number of Republicans and Democrats, and I think that's when you bring it back to Congress if it rises to the ability," McCarthy said at a press conference Tuesday.
House Democratic leaders had instructed their members to vote no on referring the resolution to the House Ethics Committee. Garcia said his resolution to expel Santos was about putting Republicans on the record.
"There hasn't been action, and so now's the appropriate time to make sure that Republicans are on record if they're going to actually stand by someone that is a serial liar and a fraud. And they're gonna have to record a vote, and the American people will be watching their votes," Garcia said Tuesday.
Santossaidin March that he would comply "100%" one day after the House Ethics Committee voted unanimously to establish an "Investigative Subcommittee" tolook into the claims made against Santos.
Following Wednesday's voting, Santos told reporters that he believed referring the resolution to the ethics panel was the best path forward.
"I have a right a constitutional right to defend myself and I will do that, and I look forward to doing that. I look forward to seeing the process play out," Santos said to ABC News at an impromptu press conference that was interrupted by heckling lawmakers.
"I think that this was the right decision for all of us, and I look forward to continuing to defend myself. Again, innocent until proven guilty. That is a right that we all have," he said.
When asked if he'll resign if the Ethics Committee recommends it, he said, "Of course."
Santos also claimed he is hard at work doing his job despite being under multiple investigation.
Among the accusations the House ethics subcommittee has been examining are whether Santos "engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign; failed to properly disclose required information on statements filed with the House; violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection with his role in a firm providing fiduciary services; and/or engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking employment in his congressional office," according to a news release from the House Ethics Committee.
The congressman has previously acknowledged lying about some parts of his background, specifically about graduating from college -- which he did not -- but he has insisted his behavior was similar to routine resume embellishment. He has deniedthe allegations of sexual misconductor any criminal wrongdoing.
Santos was indicted last week on 13 criminal counts, including seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives, federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York said.
Hepleaded not guiltyto all charges.
Twenty members of Congress have been expelled, 17 of them for supporting the Confederacy in 1861 and 1862. Only five members of the House have been expelled in U.S. history.
