New York Republican Rep. George Santos’ short and dazzling political career came to an end on Friday as a supermajority of his colleagues executed a maneuver as rare as the man they’re poised to evict from the House.
No less than two-thirds of the chamber voted for a resolution from Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest, a fellow Republican from Mississippi, that made Santos only the third person to be booted from Congress since the Civil War – a dishonorable distinction previously reserved for convicted felons.
Santos is not one – at least, not yet. He’s been charged with a litany of wrongdoing, from fraud and money laundering to theft and stealing donors’ identities. His list of offenses, some alleged and others confirmed (often by him), runs much longer and places him comfortably among the foremost rogues and reprobates to make a cameo on America’s nearly 250-year-old political scene.
In less sweeping terms, Santos’ many transgressions are sure to endanger the GOP House majority, thin before and now looking downright bony after his number was taken off the board.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
New York Republican Rep. George Santos’ short and dazzling political career may come to an end on Friday as a supermajority of his colleagues prepares to execute a maneuver as rare as the man they’re poised to evict from the House.
No less than two-thirds of the chamber is expected to vote for a resolution from Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest, a fellow Republican from Mississippi, that would make Santos only the third person to be booted from Congress since the Civil War – a dishonorable distinction previously reserved for convicted felons.
The 56-page ethics report that ultimately appears to have doomed Santos, who recently described himself as the “Mary Magdalene of United States Congress” and dared members to kick him out, does a thorough – and, befitting its subject – colorful job ticking off his “constant series of lies,” misrepresentations and, most seriously, fraudulent spending.
“Santos’ congressional campaigns were built around his backstory as a successful man of means,” they wrote, “a grandson of Holocaust survivors and graduate from Baruch College with a Master’s in Business Administration from New York University, who went on to work at Citi Group and Goldman Sachs, owned multiple properties, and was the beneficiary of a family trust worth millions of dollars left by his mother, who passed years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a result of long-term health effects related to being at one of the towers.”
What is clear now is that the tens of thousands of donor dollars Santos allegedly spent on Botox, Hermès and OnlyFans is a drop in the bucket compared to what he may cost Republicans, who are already on the backfoot in attempting to keep their House majority ahead of next year’s elections.
The county and state GOP, along with fellow Republican House members from New York, have all condemned Santos – and all are expected to vote for his expulsion – but Democrats have spent the year since the scandal cracked the headlines doing their best to link them all back to the freshman congressman.
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