So dumb question, what happens if his district sends him back and he doesn't resign, do they just not get representation?
Expelling is all good for George Santos, but what if they wanted to expel someone for racist or homophobic reasons. This feels like it could be abused.
It takes a super majority (2/3rds) to expel someone. It's hard (though not impossible) to abuse that over personal prejudices. Also, it doesn't stop him from seeking re-election. There will be a special election over his now empty seat in the near future. He can even run in that election. If they re-elect him, he's right back where he was. So even if expelled for spurious or outright bigoted reasons, the voting public can still correct that by electing them again.
This has even arguably happened recently in Tenessee with the expulsion of Representative Justin Jones and Representative Justin Pearson. They were punitively expelled for breaking decorum for protesting on the state house floor, a move widely seen as racially motivated. They were then immediately reappointed and got their seats back.
Thanks for the clarification
2/3 of the House has to vote for expelling so it is likely difficult to actually abuse this since 2/3 is not all one party
So dumb question, what happens if his district sends him back and he doesn't resign, do they just not get representation?
Expelling is all good for George Santos, but what if they wanted to expel someone for racist or homophobic reasons. This feels like it could be abused.
It takes a super majority (2/3rds) to expel someone. It's hard (though not impossible) to abuse that over personal prejudices. Also, it doesn't stop him from seeking re-election. There will be a special election over his now empty seat in the near future. He can even run in that election. If they re-elect him, he's right back where he was. So even if expelled for spurious or outright bigoted reasons, the voting public can still correct that by electing them again.
This has even arguably happened recently in Tenessee with the expulsion of Representative Justin Jones and Representative Justin Pearson. They were punitively expelled for breaking decorum for protesting on the state house floor, a move widely seen as racially motivated. They were then immediately reappointed and got their seats back.
Thanks for the clarification
2/3 of the House has to vote for expelling so it is likely difficult to actually abuse this since 2/3 is not all one party
got it, thanks for the clarification.