GOP congressman says it would be politically advantageous for him to vote to expel George Santos because some of his constituents 'don't like the fact that he's gay'

• GOP Rep. Tim Burchett says he's undecided over whether he'll vote to expel George Santos.
• But Burchett says it would be easy to sell it to his voters back home, who already want Santos gone.
• "People don't like the fact he's gay," he said, adding that he's personally "a libertarian."

Rep. Tim Burchett remains undecided over whether to vote for a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos from Congress this week.

But the Tennessee Republican also told Business Insider on Wednesday that voting for expulsion would be politically advantageous for him, and that his constituents have long been calling for Santos to go.

"Politically, it'd be the greatest vote in the world for me back home," said Burchett, who represents a broad swath of eastern Tennessee, including Knoxville. "Everybody's saying 'kick him out!'"

One reason, Burchett said, is that some of his constituents are uncomfortable with Santos's sexuality.

"I mean, people don't like the fact he's gay," said Burchett. "And then you go down the list, then you get to all the criminal stuff. But he hasn't been convicted, and I can't get past that."

The scandal-plagued New York congressman is the first non-incumbent gay Republican ever elected to Congress.

Santos, who's already facing federal charges for wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft, is set to face an expulsion vote on Friday after the House Ethics Committee released a damning report on his conduct earlier this month. He has said that he expects to be expelled and will wear it "as a badge of honor."

Pressed on whether Santos's sexuality was really a factor in his constituents' minds, Burchett insisted that it was.

"Down deep, that's a lot to do with it," said Burchett. "It's not cool. I'm a libertarian, it's your own business. Whatever. Just don't tax me."

Burchett, a member of the House Freedom Caucus who was among the eight Republicans who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, has long taken a sympathetic approach towards Santos.

"I try to befriend everybody that's in a little bit of a bind," Burchett told Business Insider in January, saying that he was "praying for" the New York Republican.

Burchett voted against two previous attempts to expel Santos in May and November. While the Tennessee congressman said that he's concerned about the precedent that a successful expulsion would set — Santos has not been convicted of a crime — he also said that he expects the vote to pass this time.

"They got the votes to kick him out," said Burchett.