WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Republican George Santos’ brief career in the U.S. House of Representatives ended on Friday when his fellow lawmakers voted to expel him over accusations of criminal corruption and accusations of misuse of his campaign money.
The House voted 311-114 to immediately impeach the controversial freshman lawmaker, above the two-thirds majority required to oust one of its own.
Besieged by revelations of lies about his past, a federal criminal indictment and a congressional ethics investigation, Santos, 35, has become the only sixth member be expelled from the House. The New York congressman was the first to be deported without having fought for the Confederacy or been convicted of a crime.
After the vote, there was scattered applause in the chamber.
As Santos left the Capitol, surrounded by reporters, he said: “You know what? Since unofficially I am no longer a member of Congress, I no longer have to answer any of your questions. »
“To hell with this place,” he said.
Later Friday, a Capitol employee could be seen changing the lock on Santos’ former office and the sign on the door bearing his name was removed. A small bouquet of pink flowers had been placed on the ground outside.
Santos’ term lasted almost 11 months, about half of his two-year term. His impeachment followed months of controversy and chaos in the House, which two months ago saw the firing of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy following a revolt by a small group of fellow senators. far-right Republicans.
New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, now has 10 days to call a special election for the seat. The election must take place 70 to 80 days after this proclamation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and top Republican leaders opposed the expulsion, but it did not sway the party enough to accept it. Some lawmakers have argued that Santos’ fate should be decided by voters in his district next November or that his legal challenges should be resolved before the House acts.
Some lawmakers had expressed concerns that ousting Santos from office could set a precedent for abusing lawmakers’ expulsion power.
His expulsion also reduces Republicans’ already slim majority to a 221-213 majority. His district, which includes parts of New York and Long Island, is considered competitive.
FABRICATED BIOGRAPHY
(1/5)U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-NY) holds a news conference to address efforts to expel him from the House of Representatives, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., November 30, 2023. REUTERS /Elizabeth Frantz Acquire license rights
Santos has been mired in controversy since his November 2022 election. He has admitted to fabricating much of his biography, and federal prosecutors accuse him of laundering campaign funds and defrauding donors. Santos has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He survived a precedent attempted expulsion in early November, when 182 of his fellow Republicans and 31 Democrats voted against his impeachment on the grounds that his criminal case should be resolved first.
But a subsequent scathing report from the House Ethics Committee on Santos’ behavior eroded the support he had. This time, only 112 of the 222 House Republicans voted to keep him in office. Two Democrats voted against expulsion.
“George Santos’s lies were intended to defraud and deceive voters so that he would be elected, unlike other public corruption cases,” Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat and former federal prosecutor, told reporters shortly before the vote.
A bipartisan congressional investigation Last month, Santos charged nearly $4,000 for spa treatments, including Botox, to his congressional campaign account. He also spent more than $4,000 in campaign money at luxury retailer Hermes and made “smaller purchases” on OnlyFans, an online platform known for sexual content, according to the ethics committee.
Following the ethics committee’s report, he said he would not run for re-election next year.
The last expulsion was in 2002: Democrat James Traficant of Ohio in 2002, following his conviction for criminal corruption.
Santos’ problems began shortly after his November 2022 election, when media reported that he had not actually attended New York University or worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, as he had claimed during his campaign.
He also falsely claimed Jewish heritage and told voters his grandparents fled the Nazis during World War II.
Reports of these lies made Santos a pariah in the House and the target of late-night TV comedians, even before federal prosecutors charged him with a slew of fraud and drug financing crimes. campaign.
In a 23-count indictmentThey accuse him of inflating his fundraising totals to attract more Republican Party support, laundering funds to pay for personal expenses and charging donors’ credit cards without authorization.
Two former campaign staff pleaded guilty to related fraud charges.
Santos denies any wrongdoing and his trial is scheduled to begin September 9, 2024, shortly before the November elections that will determine control of the White House and both houses of Congress.
Before Santos’ 2022 victory, the district was represented by Democrat Tom Suozzi, who unsuccessfully ran for governor. Suozzi and 19 other candidates, including eight Republicans, filed for the Santos seat.
Reporting by Makini Brice and Richard Cowan; additional reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool
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