George Santos ousted from US House just 11 months after taking oath, sixth representative to be expelled so far
WASHINGTON, DC: George Santos, the first-term Republican, was expelled by the US House of Representatives on Friday, December 1. Santos was voted out through a 311-114 vote in a rare move, making him only the sixth US representative to be ousted from Congress’ lower chamber ever.
The controversial figure, even before he made his political journey in January last year, was accused of hiding illegal information about himself. Santos also allegedly ran fraudulent schemes, and an aspiring staffer accused him of making unwanted sexual advances.
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The House of Ethic's Committee's report on George Santos
Managing to survive a previous expulsion attempt, the New Yorker got into a bad light with the House Ethics Committee. "Representative George Santos cannot be trusted," read a November 16 House Ethics report.
The summarized version of a longstanding probe into Santos’ conduct found, "At nearly every opportunity, he placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles."
The report details that the subcommittee investigating Santos "unanimously concluded that there was substantial evidence" that he "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 ... and engaged in knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act as it relates to his Financial Disclosure (FD) Statements filed with the House."
The committee claimed that Santos had misused campaign funds for his personal usage, such as buying Botox injections, OnlyFans subscriptions, and products from luxury retailers such as Sephora and Hermès.
The House Ethics Committee's Republican chair Mississippi Rep Michael Guest launched the appeal to expel Santos again.
George Santos predicted his future
On November 24, Santos anticipated that his tenure in the House was near its end. "I know I'm going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor," he told conservative media personality Monica Matthews in an X Space, adding "I have done the math over and over, and it doesn't look really good."
Democratic Tom Suozzi, whom Santos replaced, is planning to contest the seat in 2024 and now may fight during the special election as well, reports People.
Last month, he tweeted, “Today I’m filing a committee to run for Congress in November 2024,” the former representative said in a statement on X. “The madness in Washington, DC, and the absurdity of George Santos remaining in the United States Congress is obvious to everyone," the statement added.