In a bipartisan effort to expel Rep. George Santos from the House of Representatives on Wednesday, the embattled New York Republican was easily defeated.

Santos admitted lying about his background and has been indicted on federal fraud charges.

It was necessary for a supermajority, or at least two-thirds of the voting lawmakers, to support the expulsion resolution, which was led by his fellow New York Republicans and states Santos is “not fit to serve.”

As a result, 179 people voted in favor of expulsion, 213 voted against, and 19 were present. The final tally did not even surpass the simple majority threshold.Twenty-four Republicans voted with 155 Democrats against expulsion, while 31 Democrats voted with 182 Republicans in favor of his removal.

Santos was defiant after the vote, stating that he could not look at it as a victory for himself, but rather as a victory for due process.The expulsion of him would have resulted in silencing my voters. “I will continue to fight to defend myself.”, he said.

Congressman George Santos is still in the House

“Until the people decide otherwise, I will serve the 3rd Congressional District of New York,” he declared, adding that his New York colleagues had taken this action because it was “politically expedient” for them.

Prior to the vote, Santos stated that the member had been convicted of a crime the last time a member of the House was expelled—more than 20 years ago. “Now is not the time to set dangerous precedent,” he stated.

Santos is not expected to go on trial until September after entering a not guilty plea to a superseding federal indictment on Friday.

Recently elected Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, voiced worries on Fox News last week that Santos’ removal may further erode the GOP’s meager four-seat majority and that the New York fabulist needed “due process.”

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Before deciding on Santos’ future, several Republicans stated they would like to see how the House Ethics Committee handles the situation.

The bipartisan panel declared on Tuesday that by November 17, it will make public the next developments in its inquiry.

According to its leaders, the committee has authorized 37 subpoenas, read over 170,000 pages of records, and spoken with about 40 witnesses.

After the vote on Wednesday, Santos stated that he had not spoken with investigators but that he had cooperated with the Ethics Committee in its inquiry.

He said that he might not agree with the panel’s judgment but that he would nonetheless accept it and go on to pursue his case in court later.

The expulsion resolution’s author, freshman Representative Anthony D’Esposito of New York, warned that once the Ethics Committee’s report is released, he may call for a second vote to remove Santos.

“We will read the ethics report in two weeks, and we’ll go from there,” D’Esposito said reporters. “You know, you don’t need to be a retired New York City detective to understand that the report is probably not going to be good.”

Congressman George Santos

“Absolutely,” he said when asked if he could bring up the resolution once more.

The House voted to “table,” or lay aside, a resolution denouncing Representative Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., for her criticism and demonstrations of Israel, prior to the Santos vote.

Reps. Nick LaLota, Marc Molinaro, Brandon Williams, and Mike Lawler, four additional New York Republicans in competitive races, along with D’Esposito, wrote a letter to colleagues earlier on Wednesday pleading with them to support the resolution.

They stated, “We fully support Santos’ expulsion as Republican members of the New York Delegation, and we ask all of our colleagues to join us in voting yes.”