1st December, 2023
Members of the United States House of Representatives have expelled New York Republican George Santos for multiple crimes.
These have caused his colleagues to declare him unfit to remain in the House.
In a historic votes of 311 to 114, the House removed Santos on Friday.
A two-thirds majority of the full House of Representatives was required to oust him. With 424 members apparently present, the magic number to reach was 282.
Several of Santos’ Republican colleagues turned against him after backing him in two previous expulsion votes, even though party leaders did not support it.
According to the BBC, the House Ethics Committee report claims Santos used campaign money on Botox, OnlyFans, designer fashion and personal purchases.
The embattled New York lawmaker, who announced he would not seek reelection, repeatedly refused to resign. He survived previous attempts to remove him, but momentum had been building for this effort in the wake of a scathing ethics report, according to the CNN.
Expulsion is the most severe form of punishment for a House lawmaker, and Santos is the first member of Congress expelled since the Civil War who was not first convicted of a felony.
Santos told CNN after the House voted to expel him that “it’s over.”
“The House spoke that’s their vote. They just set new dangerous precedent for themselves,” he added.
When asked if he would still stay and use non-member privileges because he is not convicted, Santos said, “Why would I want to stay here? To hell with this place.”