In a historic vote, for only the sixth time in history, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to expel one of its own members, U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), for alleged ethical and campaign finance violations.
Santos, the first out gay Republican elected to Congress as a non-incumbent, had predicted his ouster despite mounting a vigorous defense of himself during debate on the floor of the House.
Santos, who faces 23 federal criminal charges, has claimed that the House Ethics Committee rushed its investigation into allegations against him, with the intent of reaching a predetermined conclusion that he was guilty of wrongdoing.
Despite concerns from some lawmakers over the precedent that voting to expel a member who has not yet been convicted might set, and opposition from Republican House leadership, 105 Republicans — or almost half the caucus — voted with 206 Democrats to remove Santos from office.
The Republican members voting for expulsion were:
Robert Aderholt, Alabama (North-Central Alabama)
Rick Allen, Georgia (Augusta, Eastern Georgia)
Mark Amodei, Nevada (Reno, Northern Nevada)
Kelly Armstrong, North Dakota
Troy Balderson, Ohio (Central Ohio)
Andy Barr, Kentucky (Lexington, Central Kentucky)
Cliff Bentz, Oregon (Southern and Eastern Oregon)
Jack Bergman, Michigan (Upper Peninsula)
Don Bacon, Nebraska (Metro Omaha)
Stephanie Bice, Oklahoma (Oklahoma City Metro)
Ken Buck, Colorado (Eastern Plains)
Larry Bucshon, Indiana (Terre Haute, Evansville)
Michael Burgess, Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth exurbs)
Ken Calvert, California (Riverside, Palm Springs)
Mike Carey, Ohio (Columbus Metro, Western Ohio)
Buddy Carter, Georgia (Savannah, Costal Georgia)
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Oregon (Bend, Willamette Valley)
Juan Ciscomani, Arizona (Tucson, Southeast Arizona)
Tom Cole, Oklahoma (Southwestern Oklahoma)
James Comer, Kentucky (Western Kentucky)
Dan Crenshaw, Texas (Suburban Houston)
John Curtis, Utah (Eastern Utah)
Anthony D’Esposito, New York (Long Island)
Monica De La Cruz, Texas (Rio Grande Valley, South Texas)
Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida (Miami-Dade County, Southwestern Florida)
Reps. Nikema Williams (Ga.) and Bobby Scott (Va.) voted against expelling the congressman, while Reps. Jonathan Jackson (Ill.) and Al Green (Texas) voted “present.”
After a Senate committee attached two amendments to the annual defense bill, the United States is closer to prohibiting coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender military members and transgender dependents of active-duty service members.
During a closed-door markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Senate Armed Services Committee approved an amendment to "prohibit the use of funds available to the Department of Defense and any Department of Defense facility to perform or facilitate sex change surgeries."
It means that any transgender adult serving in the Armed Forces will not be able to obtain coverage for gender confirmation surgeries under TRICARE, the Department of Defense's health insurance program, and will be forced to pay out of pocket if they wish to pursue surgical interventions.
Former President Donald Trump has tapped U.S. Senator J.D. Vance as his vice presidential running mate.
A self-acclaimed populist best known for espousing natalist domestic policies, the Ohio Republican echoes his party's lurch toward right-wing populism and a more nationalist, isolationist approach to foreign policy.
On social issues, Vance is nearly indistinguishable from Mike Pence, although he is more outspoken and confrontational about his conservative beliefs and values than the former vice president.
A Yale Law school graduate and the author of HillbillyElegy, a memoir detailing his upbringing in Appalachia, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022.
George Santos, the former U.S. Congressman from New York exiled from Congress in December, urged fellow gay conservatives attending the Republican National Convention to come out of the closet in a video on X.
Santos appeared to be basing his statements on an X post from The Halfway Post, a satirical news website, which claimed that executives for the gay hookup app Grindr had called the Republican National Convention "Grindr's Super Bowl."
"So Grindr executives are calling the RNC convention 'Grindr's Super Bowl,'" Santos said in the video. "Folks, look, I'm openly gay, no qualms about it, proud conservative Republican. I met my husband on Grindr, and we've been together for six years, going on seven, been married for almost three.
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