In a development that surprised approximately no one who has been within ten feet of a newspaper for the past year, Rep. George Santos has finally been shown the exit sign from the House of Representatives, an institution that apparently does have some entry requirements after all. The vote to expel Santos, a Republican from New York whose résumé has more fiction than a summer blockbuster, came down 311 to 114, with 105 Republicans crossing the aisle in a rare moment of bipartisan clarity that suggests perhaps there is a limit to what even Congress can stomach.
Santos, who by his own ever-shifting admission is somewhere between a volleyball champion and a former Wall Street banker, was the subject of a scathing House Ethics Committee report that accused him of using campaign funds for a string of eyebrow-raising purchases. Among other things, the funds reportedly financed everything from Botox and luxury goods to adult content, making him perhaps the first lawmaker to be ousted for violating both campaign finance law and basic internet discretion.
The last time someone was expelled from the House was over two decades ago, and before that you had to go all the way back to the Civil War era, which gives some idea of just how complicated it is to get kicked out, even when lying, fraud and inventive biographical storytelling are involved. In fact, it is only the sixth time in the entire history of the republic that such an eviction has occurred, putting Santos in an elite group, although not the sort that typically shows up on LinkedIn.
Naturally, Santos has not gone quietly into that good night. In characteristically theatrical fashion, he has maintained that he is the victim of political retribution, media distortion and an overzealous ethics committee, rather than the somewhat more plausible explanation of having been caught funneling donor money into his cosmetic routine. Prior to the vote, he warned his colleagues that they were setting a dangerous precedent, which is certainly true in the sense that it implies legislators may one day be held accountable for their actions.
His departure also opens up a special election in New York’s 3rd District, a swing district that Democrats see as ripe for retaking now that its incumbent is no longer tweeting through a federal indictment. Republicans, for their part, are likely hoping to find a candidate who is at minimum from planet Earth and ideally has no history of questionable financial habits or pretend past lives as a Broadway producer.
As for Mr. Santos, he has suggested he may write a book or pursue other ventures, possibly in a field where embellishment on the résumé is seen as less of a legal liability and more of a job requirement.
He came, he lied, he Botoxed.