Jorge Santos, a congressman of Brazilian origin, survives the vote and remains in the US Congress | world

Representatives of the US House of Representatives decided not to revoke the term of Jorge Santos, a politician of Brazilian origin, on Wednesday (the first). Santos belongs to the Republican Party, which controls the House of Representatives.

Approval of the measure requires the approval of two-thirds of representatives. That is equivalent to 290 votes. However, only 24 Republican representatives voted in favor of expulsion. Among Democrats, 32 voted against impeachment. The result was as follows:

• 213 They voted against impeachment.
• 179 They voted for repeal.
• 19 Abstain from voting.

Despite Santos’ victory on Wednesday, new proposals to revoke his mandate are bound to emerge. The House Ethics Committee is preparing a report on the accusations against the representative, which is scheduled to be submitted on November 17, and new expulsion requests may arise.

George Santos invented several stories during his election campaign in 2020. At the end of last month, he was officially accused in court of committing 23 crimes. Among these accusations are the following:

• Money laundering to use campaign funds for personal expenses.
• Receiving unemployment insurance money illegally.
• Collecting money from campaign donors’ credit cards without their consent.

Santos claims he is innocent. This is the second criminal case Santos faces in US courts. In May, he was charged with fraud and money laundering. He posted $500,000 bail to avoid arrest while waiting for the case to be processed.

In the council, it was Anthony D’Esposito, Santos’ colleague in the party, who submitted, last Thursday, a proposal to expel Santos from Congress.

“George Santos is not qualified to serve his constituents as a representative of the United States,” D’Esposito said.

Santos is the son of Brazilians. He was elected from a district that includes parts of New York City and its suburbs. The scandals began shortly after his election in November 2022, when he first faced accusations of falsifying a large portion of his resume and then criminal charges.