Rep. George Santos on Friday was expelled from Congress in a historic 311-114 vote as fellow lawmakers moved to end a yearlong drama sparked by his campaign of lies and alleged fraud.
The Long Island and Queens Republican lawmaker became the first member of Congress to be ousted without being convicted of a crime since the Civil War.
“To hell with this place,” Santos said as he stalked off Capitol Hill.
Santos fell just short of clinging to power after Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson nearly saved him by announcing his opposition to expulsion early Friday.
The move by Johnson spurred a flurry of late movement by Republicans, with many right-wing supporters of former President Donald Trump siding with Santos.
Republicans voted 112-105 against expelling their fellow GOP lawmakers, but Democrats voted nearly in lockstep to expel Santos, sealing his fate.
With Santos out, the GOP now holds a razor-thin 221-213 edge in the House, meaning leaders can afford to lose only three Republican votes to pass legislation if Democrats remain united.
The expulsion means Gov. Hochul has 10 days to call a special election to fill the vacancy in the district spanning the North Shore and a slice of far northeast Queens.
Hochul is required to call the vote in between 70 and 80 days, meaning a vote for the seat would likely take place in mid to late February.
Democrats are bullish about flipping the seat, which voted for President Biden by about 8% and which they held before Santos won it in a 2022 midterm upset.
Ex-Rep. Tom Suozzi wants to run to retake the seat, but party committees will select the candidates for each party in the special election. GOP loyalists say their vaunted Nassau County organization will help them hold the seat.
Santos got the boot after steadfastly refusing to resign, forcing Republican colleagues to take the politically difficult step of forcing out one of their own.
The effort to push out Santos has been mostly spearheaded by his fellow first-term Republicans from New York.
A significant number of Republicans, including many members of the right-wing Freedom Caucus, voted against expelling Santos, with some raising questions about due process.
Johnson, who voted against expelling Santos, cited the precedent of expelling a colleague who has not been convicted of any crime.
Santos was a virtual political unknown until he burst onto the political scene by portraying himself as a trailblazing gay conservative supporter of Trump.
He claimed to be a successful financial manager, with a prestigious business degree and even distant Jewish heritage.
After his win, Santos became an epic embarrassment for the GOP as his entire life story unraveled as a pack of lies.
Things went from bad to worse for Santos when federal prosecutors hit him with a 23-count indictment. He is accused of stealing donors’ credit card information, campaign finance violations, and even COVID-19 unemployment fraud.
His chances of remaining in Congress took a huge blow when the House Ethics Committee issued a scathing report this month. It accused him of using his campaign as a virtual piggy bank to fund personal expenses like luxury goods, plush vacation and even the porn site OnlyFans.
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
