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Arkansas Rep. Steve Womack was one of the members of the United States House to vote on December 1 to expel Rep. George Santos, ending the New York Republican’s tenure in Congress. Womack talked with Perry Elyaderani at KNWA/FOX24 about the expulsion vote and how it could affect the future of the country’s politics.
“Well, first of all, it wasn’t the first time that I voted to expel George Santos. We had a vote about three weeks ago, and I said then that I thought he should go. There was plenty of evidence. There was absolutely no dispute because of his own admission to the lies, and to the corruption and to the illegal activity that he did with his campaign. And frankly, it is my opinion that leadership got this one wrong, that leadership is on the wrong side of history. And, I’ve heard all the excuses and due process. I’ve heard the excuses of, you know, “A person is innocent until proven guilty,” and that entire spectrum of excuses. Given, that the worst one of the bunch, and my guess is why leadership went the direction it did, was, “Wow, when we lose him, we’re going to be down another one, and our majority is already thin and we could be on the on the cusp of losing the majority.” That is a horrible reason to keep somebody like George Santos on the payroll of the United States taxpayer. So, I voted against it for principled reasons. The guy has admitted to the wrongdoing. He’ll have his day in court. That’s guaranteed by our Constitution. He’ll get his due process. But, nowhere in the Constitution does it say that you get due process in front of your fellow members who have the constitutional authority to take punitive action against you if they find reason to do so? And, the ethics report was damning. His own admission was against him, and he had made a mockery of the institution and continued to be a sideshow and a punch line, if you will, for the activities of the House of Representatives. It is too, too important an organization. The country is too important to me personally to allow a person like this to be a constant distraction and a sideshow to the otherwise important work of the United States House of Representatives,” Womack stated.
Arkansas Rep. Steve Womack expressed his reasons for voting to expel George Santos from Congress in a recent interview. He firmly believes that having admitted to wrongdoings, it was vital for Santos to face the consequences and that his expulsion serves as a message to current and future congress members about the expectations and consequences of their actions. He also voiced his disagreement with the potential motive of preserving Santos’ position within the majority. Despite the internal divisions within the Republican party, Womack remained resolute in his decision to vote for Santos’ expulsion.
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