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Former Congressman George Santos

On Dec. 30, Congressman George Santos of the 3rd New York Congressional District was ousted from Congress on 23 felony criminal accounts including but not limited to fraud and misuse of campaign funds.

It is the sixth time in the history of the country that a congressman has been removed from office and the third time for it to happen post civil war, the only other two  congressmen ousted for a reason other than fighting for the confederacy were James Traficant in 2002 and Michael Myers in 1980. The expulsion resolution, the third one against Santos, was backed 311 to 114, meeting the 2/3rds required to oust someone from Congress. Almost immediately following the expulsion, the sign to Santos’ office was changed and the search for the candidate to take his place began.

According to AP news, Santos lied about having Jewish ancestry, a career at top Wall Street firms and a college degree. He is also accused of stealing the identities of donors and using their credit cards to make tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges, as well as wiring some of the money straight to his personal bank account. Santos has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to face trial in 2024. Since his expulsion, Santos has attempted to sell personalized videos and text messages online for $10-$200.

Now that Santos is gone, his staff are managed and supervised by the house clerk Kevin McCumber. Although he was ousted, Santos can still run for office in 2024 though he has shown no clear intention to. Santos tweeted on Dec. 1  that he would file complaints with the House Ethics Committee on Dec. 4, highlighting what he claimed were misdeeds by his former colleagues Nicole Malliotakis, Mike Lawler, Nick LaLota, and Rob Menendez.

Sophomore Dean Evans commented on the possible good that can come from the recent oustings.

“I think the Congress ousting members so often is a good thing because it shows that they are starting to crack down on corruption,” Evans said.

Congress has been making history in 2023, though more than likely not in the way anybody expected they would with the expulsion of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and the expulsion of congressman George Santos. It has been an eventful fall season for the federal government, it can only be hoped that 2024 with the presidential election will go smoother.