Onwards and Upwards

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was expelled from Congress on Friday, ending his short-lived and tumultuous time in Congress after his 2022 election. His expulsion makes him the third congressman kicked out of the lower chamber since the Civil War and the first since that time who had not been convicted of a felony.

Santos has been indicted and was the subject of a House Ethics investigation that concluded he sought to “fraudulently exploit” his office for personal financial profit. After that report, Santos announced that he would not seek reelection but refused to resign.

Expulsion requires a two-thirds majority vote in the House. It passed with a 311 to 114 vote, with 105 Republicans joining all but two Democrats who voted for his expulsion (three Democrats and five Republicans did not vote, two additional Democrats voted “present.”)

Santos was accused by the House Ethics Committee investigation of spending thousands of dollars of campaign funds for personal expenses, including Botox, OnlyFans subscriptions, a trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey and paying down his credit cards.

He is also facing Federal charges for allegedly stealing the identities of donors and using their credit cards to rack up thousands in charges. Santos has denied any wrongdoing.

As he has since media outlets first reported on falsehoods included in Santos’ resume during his 2022 campaign, Santos remained defiant after being expelled.

“Why would I want to stay here?” Santos asked reporters. “To hell with this place.”

Perhaps, he will consider continuing his political career in the upper chamber.