Freshman U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-NY) has been under fire since he entered office, in part due to his own missteps and controversies and in part because almost any Republicans is a target for leftist attacks on Capitol Hill these days.
After two prior efforts to oust him from the chamber, some Republicans joined Democrats on Friday to expel him from Congress.
According to The Hill:
He is just the sixth lawmaker booted from the chamber in its history.
The House Ethics report said there was clear evidence Santos committed serious crimes and said he “blatantly stole from his campaign” and “deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit.”
Santos faces 23 federal counts related to campaign finance, wire fraud and other allegations, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Unsurprisingly, social media commentary on the news was divided. Some believe he deserved to be kicked out of office while others say he seems to have been singled out among lawmakers — including some who are also facing serious criminal charges.
The House voted to expel George Santos from Congress.
Now that our system operates under “guilty until proven innocent,”
should we expel every Congressman that has lied, engaged in insider training, misused congressional funds, & accepted bribes from foreign countries?
CC:…
— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) December 1, 2023
George Santos could execute 50 people on the House floor before snorting 50 pounds of cocaine off their dead bodies and it STILL wouldn’t be the most criminal thing those people have done in just the last month or two.
Crimes? Whole freaking government is a crime.
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) December 1, 2023
Congress can't impeach Mayorkas who is single-handedly destroying America by allowing 10 million illegals and countless terrorists to break into America flooding our schools, our cities, and our hospitals with the 3rd world…
But never fear! Republicans expelled George Santos…
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) December 1, 2023
Conservative actor James Woods shared the news by posting images of other controversial, if not criminal, members of Congress.
George Santos is expelled from the House of Representatives in a bipartisan vote because of alleged corruption. pic.twitter.com/7urDDEOgzb
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) December 1, 2023
George Santos is expelled from the House of Representatives in a bipartisan vote because of alleged falsification of records. pic.twitter.com/hwTuYcwMuj
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) December 1, 2023
Santos offered a statement in response to his expulsion.
As The Independent reported:
Rep George Santos reacted bitterly to his expulsion from the House of Representatives after saying before the vote that he would leave “graciously”.
“The House spoke, that’s their vote. They just set new dangerous precedent for themselves,” he said after the vote, according to CNN.
He was asked if he would remain and utilize his nonmember privileges since he’s not yet convicted of any crimes, he said: “Why would I want to stay here? To hell with this place.”
Here’s some breaking coverage of the development:
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