(Washington, D.C.) – Ninth District Congresswoman Erin Houchin joined three fellow Indiana Republicans and both Hoosier Democrats in voting to expel George Santos from the U.S. House of Representatives last week.
Santos is a Republican from New York who is facing 23 felony charges, including wire fraud and identity theft.
He has entered a not guilty plea to all counts.
In addition, a 56-page House Ethics Committee report indicated Santos used campaign funds for his personal use, including rent payment, buying designer clothes, and Botox injections.
“One of the issues with the Santos vote in particular is that none of these truths about Santos came out until after the election, so the voters in his district really weren’t afforded an opportunity to make an informed choice,” Houchin said. “Once he’s in office there is no mechanism other than a vote by the House of Representatives and a two-thirds majority to make a decision to do something different.”
Santos was elected to Congress in 2022.
“This is unprecedented, but I want to say the actions of Santos were also unprecedented. I ultimately voted for expulsion upon the recommendation of the Ethics Committee,” Houchin said.
The vote to expel was 311-114.
Other members of the Indiana congressional delegation who voted for expulsion were Greg Pence (R-06), Larry Bucshon (R-08), Rudy Yakym (R-02), Frank Mrvan (D-01), and Andre Carson (D-07).
Jim Banks (R-03), Jim Baird (R-04) and Victoria Spartz (R-05) vote against.
Rep. Houchin appeared on Monday’s edition of The Daily Pod.
Please click here to listen to the entire interview.
