4 Indiana Republicans join in voting to expel George Santos from U.S. House

Four Indiana Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives joined the state's two Democrats in voting to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., from Congress on Friday.

The House voted 311-114 for expulsion following a House Ethics Committee investigation and report that found evidence the congressman broke federal laws and misused campaign money for his personal benefit.

From the Indiana delegation, Republican Reps. Larry Bucshon, Erin Houchin, Greg Pence and Rudy Yakym voted for the resolution that removed Santos, as did Democratic Reps. Andre Carson and Frank Mrvan.

Houchin explained her vote in a statement pointing to the House Ethics Committee's findings that Santos "put his own interests before his constituents" in violating the chamber's ethics rules.

"It is within the jurisdiction of the House to hold our members accountable for these violations – I concurred with the committee findings – that’s why I voted to expel George Santos from the House of Representatives today," Houchin said in the statement.

Republican Reps. James Baird, Jim Banks and Victoria Spartz voted against removing Santos.

Banks, who is running for U.S. Senate, in a statement said he did not like the precedent set by expelling Santos prior to a criminal conviction.

"I'm not defending George Santos, and I might've voted differently if he'd been convicted, but Indiana would be better off if House Republicans had spent this week working to secure the border, fight inflation and rein in Joe Biden's record spending," Banks said in the statement.

On the Democratic side, Carson, whose district includes Indianapolis, said in a statement that Santos committed "serious acts that make him unfit to serve."

“The American people deserve representatives who will work hard to lower costs, create jobs, and strengthen our nation’s infrastructure – not who have been charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements, and more," Carson said in the statement. "Serving in Congress is an honor, not a right, and I believe this is a necessary step to get back to the business the public elected us to do.”

2022 election to now: George Santos faces expulsion vote: Timeline of lies, investigations and calls for resignation

How Indiana’s U.S. representatives voted Friday:

• Frank Mrvan, Democrat, 1st Congressional District: Yes

• Rudy Yakym, Republican, 2nd Congressional District: Yes

• Jim Banks, Republican, 3rd Congressional District: No

• James Baird, Republican, 4th Congressional District: No

• Victoria Spartz, Republican, 5th Congressional District: No

• Greg Pence, Republican, 6th Congressional District: Yes

• Andre Carson, Democrat, 7th Congressional District: Yes

• Larry Bucshon, Republican, 8th Congressional District: Yes

• Erin Houchin, Republican, 9th Congressional District: Yes

USA Today contributed to this story.

Contact IndyStar's state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X@CarloniBrittany.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 4 Indiana Republicans join in voting to expel George Santos from House