Indicted Republican George Santos' brief career in the U.S. House of Representatives may come to an end on Friday, when fellow lawmakers are due to vote on whether to expel him over criminal corruption charges and accusations of misspending campaign money.

*** Update – Santos got the boot. \O/

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would vote against the expulsion, an aide said.

Santos, 35, has been mired in controversy since his 2022 election. He has admitted fabricating much of his biography, and federal prosecutors accuse him of laundering campaign funds and defrauding donors. Santos has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

He survived a previous expulsion attempt in early November, when 182 of his fellow Republicans and 31 Democrats voted against his removal on the grounds that his criminal case should be resolved first. Without his seat, Republicans’ already slim 222-213 majority would narrow further. His district, which includes parts of New York City and Long Island, is seen as competitive.

Santos could fare worse in Friday’s vote. A bipartisan congressional investigation last month found that he charged almost $4,000 for spa treatments, including Botox, to his congressional campaign account. He also spent more than $4,000 of campaign money at the luxury retail store Hermes and made “smaller purchases” from OnlyFans, an online platform known for sexual content.

  • skozzii@lemmy.ca
    4·
    11 months ago

    I can’t imagine they can give any good reason, the report is very very damning.

    They should be questioned and held accountable. Being lazy is not an acceptable answer.

    • Garbanzo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      I think there are some potentially good reasons including:

      1. It’s always been obvious what this dude is about, so that must be what his constituents want.
      2. My constituents don’t care about George.
      3. My constituents do care about the federal spending I can bring to the district. It might be easier to do that if the GQP think I’m cool.
      4. Chaos.