Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Image source, Getty Images

George Santos is hard to miss in the House chamber, but it looks like he dipped out during the vote.

Early on in the vote, it looked bad for him - and I did not see him leave, so I have to assume he left before the vote was gavelled out.

Colleagues in the Capitol Hill press corps are already reporting that he rushed off the floor without answering questions and jumped straight into a waiting SUV to make a quick getaway.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

George Santos has officially been voted out of office by his colleagues.

The yeas are 311 and the nays are 114, with two lawmakers voting present.

A two-thirds majority of the full House of Representatives was required to oust him today.

With 424 members apparently present, the magic number to reach was 282.

Several of Santos’ Republican colleagues turned against him after backing him in two previous expulsion votes, even though party leaders did not support it.

We heard some scattered applause from both sides of the aisle as the successful vote to expel was gavelled out.

George Santos has been expelled.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest reactions.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Votes are still being counted but it looks like George Santos has now been voted out on the third attempt.

This is an electronic vote and lawmakers have only five minutes to decide.

At this stage Democrats are voting together in a block.

But Republicans have split their votes.

Voting is currently at 262 to expel. The number needed is 282.

The vote to expel George Santos from the US House has started.

It would require 282 votes to expel Santos.

You can watch a livestream of voting by clicking the Play button at the top of this page.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest updates and analysis.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

George Santos has entered the chamber.

He is dressed in darker clothing than usual, a dark navy blazer over a black sweater.

He is sitting right at the back of the chamber, in his usual spot behind members of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus.

A few lawmakers have ambled over for a chat and he was just speaking with the House Chaplain.

From what we’ve seen of Santos over the past 11 months, we should expect to hear from him at least once on the House floor.

Political implications for a Santos expulsionpublished at 15:45 Greenwich Mean Time 1 December 2023

15:45 GMT 1 December 2023

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The Santos expulsion vote is about more than just George Santos. There are broader political implications for today’s action.

The Republicans have a narrow majority in the House of Representatives – and Santos’ removal will make it even slimmer. Currently there are 222 Republicans and 213 Democrats in the chamber. Without Santos, the Republican margin will drop to eight – meaning that on any party-line vote, Republicans could only afford to lose three votes.

That, of course, is assuming full attendance – which is not always easy to guarantee in a 435-member chamber. Legislators get sick. They have family obligations. They take trips back home and abroad. Some get fed up with life in Washington and just straight-up quit.

Rumours have been flying in Washington that former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, having been ousted from leadership by a conservative rebellion, may decide to pack his bags before next November’s election.

The narrower the margins between Republicans and Democrats in the chamber, the harder it will be for new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and his leadership team to have a workable majority that can pass new laws – including legislation funding the US government and providing military aid to Ukraine and Israel.

Santos would eventually be replaced in a New York special election scheduled by the state’s governor. But his seat will be hotly contested, and Democrats have at least even odds to win it.

The balance of power in the House at the moment is teetering on a knife’s edge.

The vote to expel George Santos is scheduled to take place sometime in the next 10 minutes.

You can watch the vote live by pressing the Play button at the top of the page.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Image source, Getty Images

For much of this week, George Santos looked - in the words of one lawmaker - “like toast”.

But today’s expulsion vote, the third effort to remove the New York Republican, is not looking so certain to succeed anymore.

House Republican leaders had already indicated they would not whip, or pre-count, the votes and would allow members to “vote by their conscience”.

On Wednesday, Speaker Mike Johnson said he had “real reservations” about setting a precedent by ousting a lawmaker who had not been convicted of any crimes or tried in a court of law.

Speaker Johnson appears to have now confirmed he will vote no on the resolution, as will the next three highest-ranking party members - Steve Scalise, Tom Emmer and Elise Stefanik.

“I am voting no based upon my concerns regarding due process,” Stefanik wrote on X a few minutes ago.

“I have said from the beginning that this process will play out in the judicial system which it currently is.”

The previous five members to be expelled from the House were: three confederates and two Democrats tried in a court of law. The concern with removing Santos is that it open the door to expelling the many lawmakers under ethics probes or facing spurious allegations of their own.

What happens if Santos gets the boot?published at 15:24 Greenwich Mean Time 1 December 2023

15:24 GMT 1 December 2023

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

If George Santos is successfully expelled from Congress by a two-thirds vote of the House of Representatives, the gears of the Capitol bureaucracy spring into action.

Santos will lose the ability to vote on legislation immediately.

Workers will remove his nameplate from his office in the Longworth building across the street from the Capitol. His staff there and in his New York offices can keep their jobs until voters pick his replacement, but they will report to the administrative office of the Capitol, not to Santos.

In the meantime, they can continue to provide services to Santos’ former constituents in New York’s Third Congressional District.

Santos won’t exactly become just another ordinary citizen, however.

He will continue to enjoy the privileges afforded to former members of Congress who leave under less controversial circumstances. As long as he isn’t criminally convicted, doesn't take a job as a foreign lobbyist or isn't advocating for a specific piece of legislation, he will be able to stroll the halls of the Congress, including access to the floor of the House of Representatives.

He can dine in the exclusive House restaurant, exercise in the Capitol gym and borrow books from the Library of Congress.

He is not eligible for the cushy congressional legislative pension, however. He would have to serve in the House for a total of five years to qualify. Of course, there’s nothing stopping Santos from running for Congress again, if he so decides. Expelled members – or even criminally convicted ones – are not prohibited from rejoining the chamber if they can convince voters to send them back.

Image source, Getty Images

If George Santos is indeed expelled from the House of Representatives, he would become only the sixth elected member of the lower chamber of Congress to meet this fate.

• The most recent was Jim Traficant in 2002. He was convicted on bribery and tax evasion charges and was forced out by a 420-1 vote.
• Michael Myers was ousted in 1980 after an FBI sting (which was the inspiration for the film American Hustle). He was expelled in a 376-30 vote.
• John Reid, John Clark and Henry Burnett are the other three lawmakers to be expelled. They were all kicked out of Congress in 1861 for siding with the Confederacy in the US Civil War.

You can read more about their stories here.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Congressman Dan Goldman says that, if today’s expulsion vote fails, he does not yet know what he will do.

He says it’s “almost inconceivable to me” that colleagues could save Santos after the release of the ethics report and the facts contained in it.

“This person is a pox in our house," Goldman says.

The voters alongside Goldman say they’ve been “without meaningful representation” for the past 11 months.

“Every day George Santos has been in Congress has been a day our needs have not been meet,” says Kim, who has been in the New York district since 2001.

Allowing him to stay would “set a dangerous new precedent” and “erodes democracy”, she adds.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Congressman Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, is co-sponsoring his party’s resolution to expel George Santos.

Today’s vote will begin with Republicans’ motion to oust their own colleague. But if it fails, we will likely see Goldman’s motion come forward.

Goldman is holding a news conference outside the Capitol, with some of Santos’ constituents in New York’s third congressional district.

Their group is called Concerned Citizens of NY-03.

“It is long past time Republicans stand up and do the right thing, not the expedient thing,” he said.

One voter, Jodie, says that while Republicans are worried about setting a precedent, “clearly it’s far more dangerous to keep” Santos in Congress.

“What does that tell other candidates? What does that tell our young people?” she asks.

A bipartisan ethics committee - split evenly between Republicans and Democrats - found George Santos reported fictitious loans to his political committees in order to induce donors to make further contributions to his campaign.

He then diverted campaign money to himself as "repayments" of those fictitious loans, the report found.

According to the report, Santos also:

• Spent campaign money on Botox treatments, luxury fashion purchases, trips to Atlantic City and Las Vegas, holidays in the Hamptons, and even his own rent
• Hired one of his own companies to work for his campaign. The company, RedStone, paid Santos at least $200,000, which he used to pay credit card debt and make purchases from companies including Hermes, OnlyFans, a website for adult content, and Sephora
• Recorded 37 expenses of exactly $199.99 - one cent below a threshold set by law that requires campaigns to keep receipts
• Claimed to own multiple properties and a luxury car. The report states:"At no point does Representative Santos appear to have owned a Maserati, despite telling campaign staff otherwise”

You can read more here.

Roderick Macleod
US reporter

Image source, BBC/Roderick Macleod

It’s not uncommon for the press to ask celebrities what they’re wearing, but questioning a member of Congress on his attire may seem a little abnormal.

But as with most events surrounding George Santos, not normal is the norm.

Yesterday about 50 members of press gathered, for what could be the congressman’s last press conference in an official capacity outside the Hill.

And at least one journalist asked the question many were thinking: “Is anything you’re wearing bought with campaign funds, like your shoes?”

The shoes in question, on this occasion, were what appeared to be purple Ferragamo loafers. A similar looking pair valued at about $800 (£633) online.

“No nothing, absolutely nothing,” was the retort, “These are six years old”.

But his fashion is rightfully under scrutiny.

And it’s not the first time since the recent report was released that journalists have questioned whether he was wearing , externalthe fruits of accused misspending.

According to a House Ethics Committee Report, Santos spent about $6,000 of campaign money at Ferragamo, a luxury Italian fashion brand, thousands of dollars on other luxury goods at Hermès and Sephora, as well as Spa treatments and Botox appointments.

Given this, what he’s wearing and how he looks today will certainly be under further scrutiny.

Image source, Steve Lammiman

The US House of Representatives has already rejected moves to expel the New York congressman.

Most recently, a 1 November vote ended as 179-213.

It was far short of the two-thirds majority needed to oust a House member.

Twenty-four of Santos' fellow Republicans voted to expel him.

More than 30 Democrats voted against removing Santos.

But that vote was held before a House ethics committee released its damning report on his conduct.

The panel found the Republican congressman "blatantly stole from his campaign" and exploited "every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit".

Several Republicans have said that ethics report has changed their stance, and they would now vote to oust Santos.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
US reporter

The 35-year-old lawmaker is facing dozens of federal charges, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States.

An admitted "terrible liar", George Santos has been dogged by allegations of falsehoods and fraud throughout his brief career - the New York Republican was elected to Congress last November.

A non-existent real estate portfolio, fraudulent claims of college degrees and confusion over whether he's Jewish - or merely"Jew-ish" - were just some of the controversies Santos faced before he was even sworn into office.

He even reportedly claimed to donors that he helped produce the infamous Spider-Man musical on Broadway - he didn't.

During his campaign, Santos billed himself as "the full embodiment of the American dream": an openly gay child of Brazilian immigrants who rose to the upper echelons of Wall Street before entering the world of politics.

Since then, he admitted large portions of his story were entirely made up.

Brandon Livesay
US reporter

Image source, Getty Images

US Congressman George Santos is facing expulsion from the House of Representatives after less than a year in office.

The 35-year-old Republican has been a lightning rod for controversy ever since he was elected in New York, and now a vote to oust him is mere hours away.

He faces multiple criminal charges, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States.

A recently released House ethics committee report found he used campaign cash to make personal purchases - including Botox, OnlyFans and designer fashion.

And then there’s the case of the lies in his CV, where he fabricated his education and work history.

Santos has already survived two expulsion votes, but those were before the damning ethics report had been released.

Now, Santos himself has admitted he will probably get booted from the House.