On Dec. 1, the U.S. House of Representatives expelled Republican George Santos by an overwhelming margin of 311 to 114 in this historic vote. Santos, who first took office in January, will have served less than a year before he became just the sixth member of Congress in history to be removed.
Santos was first elected in 2022 during the midterm elections, defeating his Democratic opponent Robert Zimmerman after a red wave swept Long Island. Santos was able to flip New York’s 3rd Congressional District Republican even though it voted for Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
He has since faced backlash after being accused of lying about much of his life, including his financial records, where he attended school, previous jobs at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, and his Jewish heritage. He has previously stated that he lost family members in the Holocaust and the 9/11 attacks, both of which have come into question over the past year.
In March, the House Ethics Committee voted to investigate Santos over concerns of “unlawful activity” during his election campaign.
In addition, he has since been charged with 23 criminal counts, ranging from identity theft, money laundering, wire fraud, and lying to Congress. Most recently, he has been accused of using campaign funds for personal purchases, such as Botox, Hermes, and OnlyFans.
Some North students acknowledged the severity of the accusations against Santos.
“The allegations against Santos were very serious,” said sophomore Max Mueller. “It comes as no surprise that they decided to investigate him at the time.”
Eventually, after previous attempts failed, Santos was removed from Congress on December 1st with bipartisan support. 105 Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues in removing the disgraced Congressman from office.
Many North students were pleased with the removal of Rep. Santos.
“It’s a good thing that George Santos was expelled,” said junior Logan Ye. “He tarnished the values of American democracy.”
Senior Benny Feingold emphasized the importance of investigating political candidates prior to elections to ensure future scandals do not occur. “Mr. Santos was obviously morally unfit to represent our district in Congress and his expulsion is appropriate in light of all his misconduct,” said Feingold. “The whole debacle clearly demonstrates the necessity for political parties to more thoroughly vet potential candidates before selecting them.”
Santos’ seat in Congress now remains empty. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul arranged for a special election to be held on Feb. 13 of next year. This election presents an opportunity for Democrats to take back the seat and weaken the Republican majority in the House. Tom Suozzi, who held the seat before Santos, is expected to run for the position on the Democratic side. Meanwhile, the Republicans have yet to choose a candidate.
In light of his expulsion, Santos took to the app “Cameo” to further connect with his fans, and even those who are just interested in seeing what he’s up to. Cameo, a video-sharing network based in Chicago, is a platform where celebrities can create personalized videos for a fee. Many people choose to dedicate these videos to their friends and family.
Many students were amused by Santos’ presence on Cameo.
“His expulsion was the best thing for America,” said junior Michael Leung. “Now we can get meme-worthy Cameos.”
“I honestly think his Cameos are funny,” said junior Jessica Ong. “I’m glad Santos found something better to do.”
We have yet to see who the voters will select to represent them in Congress. As of now, the future of Congress remains very uncertain.
