The US House voted to expel Congressman George Santos

(CNN) — The U.S. House of Representatives voted this Friday to expel Republican Rep. George Santos, a historic vote that made New York the sixth member of Congress to be expelled.

The New York congressman has survived previous efforts to remove him from office, but this latest effort gained momentum after the House Ethics Committee released a long-awaited report in November that found Santos “fraudulently used every aspect of his House candidacy for his personal financial gain.”

Many Republicans who previously did not support ousting Santos said they would vote to oust him as a result of the Ethics Commission’s findings, though it was unclear before the vote whether there would be enough congressional support to oust him.

Expulsion is the most severe form of punishment for House lawmakers. It is extremely rare and requires a two-thirds majority vote to win, a very high bar. Only five congressmen have been expelled in history.

Rep. Mark Molinaro, Republican of New York, told Speaker Mike Johnson at Friday morning’s House Republican caucus that he would vote against the measure to oust Santos, and encouraged members to vote in the districts of their choice.

Santos announced he would not run for re-election following the publication of the Ethics Commission report, but he refused to resign and denounced the investigation as “a despicable politicized scandal”.

News in development…