We are going to go now to the floor
and listen to what's happening.
It looks as though
they are going to begin this vote.
Let's listen in.
Going to be 5 minutes.
They can hold it open for longer.
But as money suggested, it's
not likely to go.
You're seeing how quickly right now,
how quickly people are. Yeah.
And just watch the bottom
number on the left under.
Yeah.
Now, I guess we don't know
if they're 435 members voting today.
At least I don't if there are
that number
needs to be to 90 to expel George.
That's right.
Because there's two
thirds
supermajority needed
in this particular action.
I want to get to you, David Chalian.
Looking at all
this and hearing how this really
what might be considered a major shift
from thinking
he was going to get pushed out
and expelled to now seeing this shift,
what does that tell you about leadership?
Even though they aren't whipping
the votes,
they are making their statement
very clear by saying
they are not voting to expel.
Right.
You know,
we heard Speaker Johnson
earlier in the week say
this should be a vote.
That is a matter of conscience.
I would imagine all votes for
members of Congress
should be a matter of conscience.
But he said that he was uncomfortable
with it.
And then today, obviously,
the dramatic development of him
saying that he is indeed
going to vote against this resolution
to expel Sanders.
And as you're discussing,
I mean, I think it is
both things can be true, right?
It could be both
the process precedent and the politics
that are dictating motivations here.
I do think it's worth
noting, guys, if indeed Santos survives
this and we'll see, you're up to 200
votes now.
As you're looking for that
two thirds majority.
And as John noted,
if all 435 members are president voting,
that'll be two 92. Get him expelled.
But I would just say,
if indeed he survives
this, Democrats would indeed
get the best outcome here in the sense
that they get to vote to expel him.
And yet
keep him as a poster boy
to run against
for against the Republican Party
overall over the next many months.
And again, the other. No, I'm sorry.
No, I was just going to say,
just keep an eye on what is happening.
What you're seeing
is the Republican number
of who is voting in the in favor
of expelling the yays. Is it?
76 right now?
70 Now it's at 77.
If all members are voting
in the chamber and voting they have now
and all Democrats
are voting to expel him.
They have potentially passed
the threshold of expelling him.
However, an important note.
They can change their votes.
So we do not call this.
You do not know.
One declares anything
or until the gavel lands,
they still have 2 minutes
plus left on here.
Let's leave this up, guys,
and bring up Manu Raju.
Yeah, just this again.
Again, this number right here.
85 is absolutely enough to boot him
if they don't change those votes
right now without context.
Let's talk about the last vote
and how he weighed what he survived
the last vote to expel.
It was 21.
It was 179 in favor that included
24 Republicans voting to expel
as you can see here,
it's far beyond that now
and past the threshold
that we have been discussing.
However, again, lots of caveats.
Until it happens,
it doesn't happen
Monty, I think Monty is ready.
He's standing on the steps. Monty.
You're hearing anything out there?
What do you hear? Yeah.
I mean, yeah,
this is
which looks like Jorge Santos is done
is 88.
89 Republicans are voting to expel him.
The magic number was 77.
So unless something dramatically changes
this will be historic.
An unprecedented vote where George Santos
will be the first member ever
to be expelled, who has not yet
not been convicted of a crime,
did not participate
as the Confederate in the Civil War.
But these allegations
apparently to be so damning
that members said that it is enough,
it is time to kick him
out of the chamber.
I just talked to one of them
Carlos Jimenez of Florida.
He said that I asked him
what the president
is he concerned by saying?
The president said, well,
the president shouldn't be lying
and stealing from your donors.
That should be enough
to get you out of Congress.
Apparently, that's
how a lot of Republicans felt here.
89 Republicans right now.
There was 90 Republicans.
There are still 48
people who have not voted yet.
They need to get that magic number of 290
if all members are present and voting.
And we'll see ultimately
if they can get there.
But at the moment,
he is on his way out of Congress,
which would set up a special election
in a seat that Democrats could pick up.
It could make Johnson's job
even harder to advance his agenda
because they just got to 91
90 divided house
so so just hit to 90 290 votes.
George Santos is poised to be expelled
from Congress
with support of Republicans and Democrats
in this historic vote,
unexpected,
as we were suggesting,
because of Mike Johnson's opposition
but the decision by the Speaker to say
vote your conscience
and not twist arms,
not whip members of mine,
obviously many members
said enough is enough.
It's time for George Santos to go.
Republicans 101 so far have voted to kick
George Santos out.
305 total votes
you needed to 90 in order to expel him.
This could be a historic moment.
Let us go to Melanie's and Donna
right now
to give us the very, very latest
and what she is hearing where she is.
Where are you, Melanie?
Yeah, I'm right outside the House
chamber right now.
And looking at these vote
totals, you see
Republicans are pretty evenly split here.
100 and 102 Republicans now
voting to expel Jorge Santos.
That is a very big number.
That was far more than
what was actually needed
in order to expel Jorge Santos.
Now, they haven't
brought down the gavel yet,
so it's not final.
Nothing's final
till it's final around here.
But it certainly looks like Jorge
Santos is on track
to become
just the sixth member ever expelled
and bringing an end to his very brief
congressional career
that was filled with drama, scandals
and lies.
Now, in terms of what happens next year,
I mean, this is going
to be treated like a vacancy
so the clerk will assume
control of his office,
will make decisions
on behalf of his office.
Jorge Santos, for his part,
said that he will go home
and he will pack up his office
and head back to New York tomorrow.
And that he will go
sort of quietly into the night.
And then at some point,
the new the governor of New York
is going to have to call
a special election in the next ten days.
That would set up a special election
sometime in the next
70 to 80 days from now.
It's going to be a tough race
because this is a Biden seat.
It's a blue district.
This is something that Democrats
have a very strong chance at flipping.
And in in the short term,
it's going to narrowly
only hang on for a second.
We want to get to Marty Roger, who's
got someone with the money
that was
there, George
Santos coming down the stairs.
There was ousted capital.
Now you hear
Marty trying to get to him in the Senate.
He gets him.
It looks like
he isn't saying anything to anyone.
He has been talking a heck of a lot
before this vote.
But now you see this vote.
310 they are
threshold was to 90 to kick him out.
We are waiting
to see if he says anything there.
Let's listen in.
Nope.
Jumped in the car. Close the door.
Windows. Hello.
Any comment, Mr.
Santos? Any comment?
And you call.
Let's go to the House floor, guys.
He just gaveled the speaker's gavel
and go to the House floor.
And
Speaker Johnson is in the chair, which is
quite significant.
Let's stand by and see
what he's about to say.
I just saw him drop the gavel
There we go.
On this vote, the yeas are 311.
The nays are 114 with two recorded
as present
Two thirds voting in the affirmative.
The resolution is adopted
and a motion to reconsider
is laid upon the table.
The clerk will notify the governor
of the state of New York of
the action of the House.
That means George Santos,
under clause
five of Rule 20,
the chair
announces to the House
that in light of the expulsion
of the gentleman from New York, Mr.
Santos, breaking news
and the decision
from the House of Representatives
on this historic vote.
Jorge Santos has been voted expelled
from the House of Representatives
by a two thirds majority of the House.
The final tally?
311 fellow House members
voting to oust him.
The threshold was to 90
and they far passed that.
David Chalian
standing by the sixth member of Congress
in history
to be expelled
from the House of Representatives. David
who just walked by himself
out the chamber
before the speaker actually
gaveled the vote to its conclusion
and got into that car and drove away.
No longer a member of Congress as he was.
Just just moments ago
you heard the speaker instruct the clerk
to notify the governor
of New York of the vacancy in this seat
and this is now the first time,
as you guys have said,
where you're not dealing with
a traitor from the Confederacy or
dealing with a convicted criminal.
This is the first time
that somebody
has been expelled
from Congress
that doesn't fit
into one of those categories,
which is that notion of precedent
that George Santos and was raising
and some Republicans
were raising
as an area of concern
that this was setting a precedent.
But this is
this is quite astonishing
when you think a year ago,
when it was
first reported
by The New York Times and others
how much he had lied to the public
about who he was, what he was,
what he was claiming to be
a total and complete fraud.
And then, as you noted, that
that ethics report
that showed
that he was using campaign contributions
to fund his personal life.
Now, he's obviously pleaded not guilty
to the federal charges
that are against him.
He claims his innocence,
and that'll be adjudicated
in a court of law.
But his fellow representatives
in Congress said he's no more
befitting to serve in the people's House.
And now there is going to be
a real political fallout
both in
how the House is governed
with an even narrower
Republican majority now
and in the battle
for control of the House,
because this is a critical district
that helped
give for Republicans
the majority in the last cycle
and now is going to be really up
for grabs, both in a special election
and then next November.