The 35-year-old representative from a New York state district has been involved in several scandals since his election late last year. For example, Santos paid for luxury goods and Botox treatments with campaign funds. He also appears to have lied about his resume and family history. Santos himself has consistently denied all accusations.
Santos is the sixth lawmaker in American political history to be expelled by his colleagues. The last member of Congress to have this happen was Democrat Jim Trafficant, who was forced to resign in 2002 for forcing employees to work on his farm. The Santos region must hold elections within three months to appoint a successor.
Santos will face another trial in the near future on charges of money laundering and tampering with campaign funds. He was formally charged in federal court in May of this year. Santos was released on $500,000 bail. He has not yet been tried.
Not the first attempt
Today’s vote was not the first attempt to remove Santos. At the beginning of last month, the Republican survived a vote on his position. Only 179 out of 433 members voted in favor of his departure. To remove Santos, 290 votes were needed. This two-thirds majority was also not achieved in a previous vote.
After the House Ethics Committee found that Santos engaged in “unlawful and unethical conduct” two weeks ago, his political opponents made a new attempt to remove him from office. The investigation report details how Santos misled campaign donors. However, Santos did not want to hear anything about leaving of his own free will.
