On December 1, over two-thirds of the United States House of Representatives voted to expel Rep. George Santos.

The resolution to expel him from Congress passed 311 to 114, with 105 Republicans and all but two Democrats voting to remove him.

On November 16, the Investigative Subcommittee of the House Committee on Ethics completed its investigation and unanimously concluded that there was substantial evidence that Santos:

• Knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission;
• Used campaign funds for personal purposes;
• Engaged in fraudulent conduct in connection with RedStone Strategies LLC; and
• Engaged in knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act as it relates to his Financial Disclosure Statements filed with the House.

The committee then immediately referred these allegations to the Department of Justice, according to the Committee’s press release.

Santos is only the sixth member of the House to be removed by this type of vote in its history.

The last member removed was Rep. James A. Traficant in 2002.

A special election to fill the now-vacant seat is expected to be announced by New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

On Wednesday, October 25, the U.S. House of Representatives voted Rep. Mike Johnson as the Speaker of the House.

On October 3, a small contingent of Republican members of the House, unhappy with then Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s performance, were able to assemble eight of their party to vote for his removal.

In the interim, Rep. Patrick McHenry acted as temporary speaker of the house.

The Republican members of the House voted unanimously for Johnson, with 220 votes in his favor.

The candidate put forward by the Democrats, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, received 209 votes.

Late in the afternoon on Tuesday, October 3, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy from his role as the Speaker of the House.

A small contingent of Republican members of the House, unhappy with the Speaker’s performance, were able to assemble eight of their party to vote for his removal.

This number, combined with the 208 Democratic members voting for removal, prevented McCarthy from keeping his position.

The final vote was 216 in favor of removal vs. 210 opposed.

While there is no current presumptive candidate, the House is expected to accept nominations and take a vote to fill his seat later today.

The apportionment of seats for the U.S. House of Representatives, based on the newly released 2020 U.S. Census data, will soon be updated for the 118th Congress, which convenes in January 2023. On April 26, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo delivered the U.S. Census population count results to President Joseph Biden for use in apportioning the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Texas will gain two seats in the House, while Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon will each gain one seat.

California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia will each lose one seat.

The remaining states’ number of seats will remain the same.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced the resident population of the United States increased overall by 7.4%.

Lawmakers convened the 122nd Indiana General Assembly with several adjustments due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

These changes include moving the House of Representatives to the Government Center South building and installing plexiglass barriers in Senate.

Neither chamber is requiring masks despite a push by House Democrats on Organization Day for a mask mandate.

Republicans also have supermajorities in both chambers.

Lawmakers will be focusing on writing the two-year budget, which must be done by June 30.

Additionally, they will redraw legislative and congressional district lines when the state receives the population data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Rep. Néstor Alonso Vega of the Puerto Rico New Progressive Party resigned from his seat in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives on November 10.

Vega, who held an at-large seat in the chamber, had been arrested and indicted for allegedly increasing an employee’s salary to receive half of the increase in return.

Vega had recently won re-election to his seat on November 3. He is the third member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives to resign after being arrested and charged with corruption this year, after María Charbonier Laureano and Nelson Del Valle Colón.

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Puerto Rico’s bicameral legislature. All 51 of Puerto Rico’s House seats were up for election on November 3.

Special elections to fill the vacant seats have not yet been announced.

On August 11, a bipartisan bill to amend the federal lobbying law was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Submitted by Republican Rep. Ben Cline and Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips, the Lobbying Disclosure Reform Act would require registration with both the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate, move enforcement of the lobbying laws to the U.S. Office of the Attorney General, amend registration and reporting thresholds, and assign a unique identification number to each individual registering as a federal lobbyist and to each client of that lobbyist.

H.R. 8022 would also require the disclosure of any persons providing strategic lobbying services in support of a registered lobbyist, who would then also be assigned unique identification numbers.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate would have the responsibility of assigning the unique identification numbers.

The Florida House is offering training sessions to assist lobbyists in getting to know the new House Rules adopted last month. A seminar will be offered on December 13 and December 14, 2016, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Room 404 of the House Office Building.

The training will focus on disclosure requirements and the new rules governing lobbyist and member conduct. Supplementary information and tutorials are available on the House’s website, www.myfloridahouse.gov, and lobbyists are encouraged to review the materials prior to attending a training session.

Photo of the Old and New Florida State Capitols by Infrogmation on Wikimedia Commons.

Texas State House District 118 Rep. Dawnna Dukes announced she will resign January 10, 2017, citing health issues stemming from a 2013 car accident.

Dukes is running for a 12th term and will remain on the November ballot. If she is successful in the general election, the seat will remain vacant until a special election is called next year. Her Republican opponent is calling for an immediate resignation to eliminate the possibility of the district’s residents remaining unrepresented for months.

The resignation comes amidst allegations and an investigation regarding her alleged use of state resources for non-governmental purposes. The current allegations are the most recent in a string of ethics and campaign finance controversies throughout her 22-year career.

Photo of Rep. Dawnna Dukes courtesy of the Texas House of Representatives website.

On August 30, 2016, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced state Rep. Bill Gossage as his deputy chief of staff for external operations. As a result, Gossage is resigning as the House District 82 representative.

Hutchinson will not call a special election to fill the remainder of Gossage’s term because the vacancy will be filled within 150 days, as required by law. The state Republican party will be responsible for selecting a nominee to run in Gossage’s place.

Gossage was running unopposed in the November 8 general election, and other political parties will be unable to run a candidate in this race as the filing deadline has already passed.

Photo of Bill Gossage courtesy of the Arkansas House of Representatives website.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo has called an impromptu meeting of the House of Representatives to discuss the struggling Kentucky Retirement System and Kentucky Teachers Retirement System. Stumbo cited poor returns and high placement fees for investment managers in an email sent to all members of the House.

All members of the House are invited to the Tuesday morning meeting, but Republicans are expected to boycott. Minority Leader Jeff Hoover criticized the timing of the meeting, as it coincides with a Democratic fundraiser taking place in Frankfort.

Hoover was also puzzled by Stumbo’s sudden interest in the topic, arguing the Democrats care now only because it will be an issue in the upcoming elections.

Photo of House Speaker Greg Stumbo courtesy of the Kentucky Legislature website.

The state House of Representatives have voted in favor of a house joint resolution to amend the state constitution to create an independent state ethics commission. The commission would be in charge of overseeing the conduct of executive and legislative state officers, employees in the executive and legislative branches, government contractors, and lobbyists.

The resolution now moves to the Senate for approval. If the resolution passes, it will be placed on the November 8 ballot.

Citing an impasse with the Senate over Medicaid expansion, the Florida House abruptly ended its session today. With three days left in the scheduled legislative session, the Senate may choose to stay through Friday.

The Senate has insisted on discussing the expansion of Medicaid during budget negotiations, but the House has refused to do so.

House Speaker Steve Crisafulli stated he plans to return for a special session to resolve the conflict prior to a July 1 deadline.

Photo of the Old and New Florida State Capitols by Infrogmation on Wikimedia Commons.

A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week would permanently close the revolving door allowing members of Congress to become lobbyists once they leave office.

House Resolution 1740 removes the cooling off periods currently in the statutes. These periods require former House members to wait one year and former Senate members to wait two years before becoming lobbyists.

The bill’s sponsor Rep. Rod Blum states in his press release, “This bill would finally close the revolving door between Congress and special interest groups, restoring integrity to our political system and ensuring that politicians focus on representing their constituents instead of catering to lobbying groups who offer a lucrative post-electoral career.”

Photo of the United States Capitol at night by Martin Falbisoner on Wikimedia Commons.