All 12 N.J. representatives vote to expel George Santos

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.”

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch), who supported both expulsion efforts, agreed that the reasons for expelling Santos were obvious.

“I mean, he had to be expelled,” Pallone said. “He did all kinds of crimes and ethics violations.”

Santos’s expulsion necessitates a special election in New York’s 3rd congressional district, a very competitive district that Santos flipped from Democrats in 2022. But while that election will likely capture quite a bit of national attention, Norcross said it’s time to move on from everything to do with Santos.

“Quite frankly, even commenting on this gives him more air,” Norcross said. “He’s been a disgrace to the House. We need to move past him and get on to the business of what we need here in America – do the business of the people, not of this clown who we just threw out.”