Rosendale and Zinke split on vote to expel U.S. Rep. Santos

George Santos, a New York Republican, has been expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives. 

In a vote to expel Santos, 311 representatives voted in favor of the motion while 114 opposed it, meeting the two-thirds threshold.

Santos did not make any comments after being expelled. He simply got in a car and left the Capitol. 

Montana's two U.S. Representatives split on the vote, with Ryan Zinke of the western Montana district voting to expel Santos, and Matt Rosendale of the eastern Montana district voting against expulsion.

Zinke said in a social media post: "Today I voted to expel George Santos from the House of Representatives. He obviously deceived his electorate to get to Congress and there's a preponderance of evidence to say he continued to defraud the people once in office. He is below the standard 'We the People' should demand."

Rosendale has not yet released any statement about the vote.

The Santos saga started shortly after his election last year to the third Congressional District in New York — an area that includes Long Island. A local newspaper was the first to report that Santos lied about much of his background. Where he went to school, where he worked and even his ancestry were found to be all made up.

While embarrassing, fudging your resume isn't illegal — but stealing from your campaign and committing fraud is. Those are the charges federal prosecutors filed against Santos in May and October.

Despite that, several House Republicans, including the speaker of the House, thought the legal process should play out before expelling him. 

"I personally have real reservations about doing this,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson. “I'm concerned about a precedent that may be set for that."

Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina also voiced his opinion on the matter.

"Let his voters deal with it. George Santos did what he did to his people in his district that elected him. Let them deal with it,” said Norman.

But after the House Ethics Committee issued its findings earlier this month that Santos committed gross violations of the rules, even many of his supporters conceded that it was time for Santos to go. 

"I told George to resign at the last minute and we carry him off the House floor like I've seen from 'Rudy,' and he can sort of pose like George Washington crossing the Potomac," said Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee. "I know he likes the show, but honestly, I mean, we all know he's leaving."

Santos is only the sixth person in U.S. history to be expelled from the House.