George Santos Yeeted From Congress

It takes a lot, and we mean A LOT, to get expelled from congress, something that has only happened five times in American history. But by George, Santos (R-Bannon) did it.

Washington Post:

The House on Friday voted to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from Congress — an action the chamber had taken only five times in U.S. history and not for more than 20 years — in response to an array of alleged crimes and ethical lapses that came to light after the freshman lawmaker was found to have fabricated key parts of his biography.

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The resolution to expel Santos passed in a 311-114 vote — easily exceeding a required two-thirds threshold for removal — with numerous Republican lawmakers turning against Santos in what was the third effort to expel the New York congressman this year. Two Democrats voted present, and eight lawmakers did not vote.

Nearly half of House Republicans voted to oust Santos even though some GOP leaders voiced concerns about setting a precedent by expelling a lawmaker who had not been convicted of a crime.

How each House member voted on expelling George Santos from Congress

The vote followed the release two weeks ago of a 56-page Ethics Committee report that accused Santos of an array of misconduct — including stealing money from his campaign, deceiving donors about how contributions would be used, creating fictitious loans and engaging in fraudulent business dealings. Santos, the report alleges, spent hefty sums on personal enrichment, including visits to spas and casinos, shopping trips to high-end stores and payments to a subscription site that contains adult content.

Moments after the expulsion vote, Santos left the chamber and headed down the Capitol steps to his car, trailed by dozens of reporters.

“You know what? As unofficially already no longer a member of Congress, I no longer have to answer a single question to you guys,” Santos said before his car pulled away.

Santos has long denied wrongdoing and resisted calls to resign, claiming at a news conference Thursday that fellow House members were “bullying” him and that the Ethics Committee report was incomplete and “littered with hyperbole.”

Santos also faces 23 federal criminal counts, including fraud, money laundering, falsifying records and aggravated identity theft. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.