In a vote that was both bipartisan and lopsided, Rep. George Santos of New York was expelled today from Congress.
Santos, who is facing a 23-count federal indictment, was the first person ever expelled from Congress without first being found guilty of a crime or of supporting the Confederacy. He is only the sixth person to ever be expelled.
The vote was not close. Almost all of the Democrats voted for expulsion, which was expected; but in addition, 105 of the Republicans in the House joined in voting with the Democrats to expel Santos. The final tally was 311 to 114, with two Democrats voting Present.
Santos was known for inventing stories to pad his resume, including lying about where he went to college, claiming to be Jewish, and tying his family to both the Holocaust and the Pulse Nightclub shooting. The federal charges against him include wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and lying to the House of Representatives.
As noted by the New York Times:
Mr. Santos’s expulsion ends one of the most turbulent political odysseys in recent memory, a stunning reversal in fortune for a political outsider whose election in Long Island and Queens last year was once heralded as a sign of Republican resurgence.
Instead, he became a Republican Party liability whose vast web of lies and misdeeds led many to question how he had managed to escape accountability for so long.
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