House opts not to punish George Santos and Rashida Tlaib. Here’s how Arizona's reps voted

Members of the U.S. House voted Wednesday against measures that would have punished two controversial lawmakers.

The House first voted to table, or block, a resolution that would have censured Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., for comments that she has made criticizing Israel and her involvement on Oct. 18 in a pro-Gaza rally organized by progressive Jewish groups.

At the rally, Tlaib delivered a speech in which she argued that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide and criticized the Biden administration’s support for military aid to Israel. Later, more than 300 protesters were arrested when they entered the rotunda of a House office building in D.C. calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The resolution, introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., deemed Tlaib’s actions “antisemitic activity” and “leading an insurrection” in the U.S. Capitol.

Twenty-three Republicans joined Democrats to block the motion, for a vote of 222-186.

Later Wednesday, the House rejected a measure to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., who has pleaded not guilty to a host of federal criminal charges, including falsifying his campaign-finance reports, money laundering and stealing the identities of donors to his campaign. Santos also lied or made misleading statements about his personal history while running for office.

“We should let the American people know if a candidate for Congress lies about everything about himself to get their votes, and then that false identity becomes known by his own admission or otherwise, that House Members will expel the fraudster and give voters a timely opportunity to have proper representation,” other members of the New York delegation wrote in a letter circulated on Wednesday.

Before the vote, some had argued that expelling Santos before he had been formally found guilty would set a bad precedent.

The measure to expel Santos failed by a margin of 179-213, with 19 members voting 'present.'" That fell far short of the two-thirds majority needed for expulsion.

Here’s how Arizona’s delegation voted on those two measures.

Rep. David Schweikert (Republican)

Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., was Arizona’s only Republican representative who voted to expel Santos.

Schweikert voted against blocking the measure that would have censured Tlaib.

Rep. Eli Crane (Republican)

Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., stuck with most Republicans on both measures, opting not to block the motion censuring Tlaib, and voting against expelling Santos.

Rep. Ruben Gallego (Democrat)

Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., also voted in line with the majority of his party. He voted in favor of expelling Santos, and voted to block the motion to censure Tlaib.

Gallego posted in support of Tlaib on social media in 2019, when the Israeli government blocked Tlaib, who is Palestinian-American, from visiting Israel and the West Bank.

Rep. Greg Stanton (Democrat)

Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., likewise voted with most Democrats, voting for expelling Santos and tabling the measure to censure Tlaib.

Rep. Andy Biggs (Republican)

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., voted with most Republicans to advance the measure that would have censured Tlaib, and block the measure that would have expelled Santos.

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Rep. Juan Ciscomani (Republican)

Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., voted to advance the measure that would have censured Tlaib, and voted against expelling Santos.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (Democrat)

Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who himself has been critical of Israel’s decision to cut off food, water, and fuel to people in Gaza in response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks, voted to block the measure that would have censured Tlaib.

He also joined Democrats in voting to expel Santos.

Rep. Debbie Lesko (Republican)

Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., was the only member of Arizona’s delegation who did not vote on either measure, according to the official House roll call vote.

Lesko recently announced she would retire from U.S. Congress at the end of her current term.

Rep. Paul Gosar (Republican)

Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., stuck with most Republicans in voting against expelling Santos, and voting not to block the measure to censure Tlaib.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: George Santos and Rashida Tlaib: How Arizona Congress delegation voted