Connect with us

Foreign News

US House votes to expel George Santos from Congress

Published

on

George Santos is the sixth lawmaker to be expelled from the House in US history (pic BBC)

After a damning ethics report, fraud charges and lies about his past, the US House of Representatives has expelled Congressman George Santos.

Lawmakers voted 311 to 114 to oust the disgraced lawmaker.

He has been accused of using campaign money for luxury expenses such as Botox and stealing charity money for a veteran’s dying service dog. The 35-year-old from Queens is only the sixth lawmaker in history to be expelled from Congress.

His ouster comes after the House ethics committee released a report that found he “blatantly stole from his campaign” and exploited “every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit”.

Among the many allegations in its final report, the panel accused him of spending campaign money on OnlyFans – a platform where users pay for content, including pornography – and holidays in the Hamptons, an elite seaside enclave in New York state.

Expulsion votes are rare in Congress and require a two-thirds super majority.

Santos made a quick exit as the votes against him started to pour in, jumping straight into a waiting SUV without answering any questions. After the resolution to expel Santos was adopted on Friday, there was scattered applause from both sides of the aisle.

A group of four New York Republicans who were elected alongside George Santos and who have long sought to give him the boot said they can now finally “stop talking about him”. They also dispute it sets bad precedent to remove him.

“The precedent that is set is that we hold members of Congress to a higher standard,” said New York Republican lawmaker Anthony D’Esposito. “The people of New York’s third congressional district need representation.” D’Esposito added that “it shouldn’t have come to this”.”He should have held himself accountable. He should have resigned,” he said.

Others, however, have defended Santos. Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene called the vote “shameful”, adding that it will erode the Republican majority in the House.

Santos faces troubles outside of Washington DC as well. The 35-year-old has been charged with 23 federal felony counts, including wire fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds, as well as separate allegations of campaign finance violations.

His trouble started shortly after winning an election in November 2022 to represent New York’s 3rd congressional district. The New York Times published an investigation in December that revealed Santos had lied about a Wall Street career, a college degree and having Jewish ancestry. Since then, allegations against the lawmaker have continued to pile up. He has been accused of a range of fabrications and fraud schemes, including scamming Amish dog breeders in Pennsylvania and claiming his mother died in the 9/11 terror attacks.

The scandals swirling around the lawmaker have pulled off the rare feat of uniting lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as they came together to have him removed. Santos had remained defiant, refusing to resign despite many calls from both sides of the aisle to step down.

“This place is run on hypocrisy,” he told reporters earlier this week. “If they want me to leave Congress, they’re going to have to take that tough vote.”

Santos has said he would leave the Capitol right away if expelled.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has 10 days to call for an election, which would take place 70 to 80 days later.

The ouster and special election could further pare down Republicans’ narrow nine-seat House majority. There is no guarantee another Republican will win the congressional seat he holds, which was easily won by Joe Biden in the 2020 general election.

Santos loses the ability to vote on legislation immediately. Workers will also quickly remove his nameplate from his office in the Longworth building across the street from the Capitol. In the meanwhile, House clerk staff will continue running daily operations for the district until Santos’ replacement is elected. Santos will also lose his health insurance, the officials said.

He can still dine, however, in the exclusive House restaurant, exercise in Capitol gym and borrow books from the Library of Congress – all privileges afforded to former members of Congress.

But he is not eligible for a congressional legislative pension.



Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Foreign News

Head teacher evacuated 900 children minutes before school washed away by Nepal floods

Published

on

By

A head teacher’s quick decision to evacuate his school saved 900 pupils from deadly flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border

Rajendra Dawadi tells the BBC he was tipped off about incoming flood waters and moved students to higher ground with just minutes to spare. One pupil says she and her friends survived by just 10 seconds  and watched as a nearby bazaar was swept away

Wednesday’s disaster has killed at least 794 people and more than 2,500 people are missing in Nepal, local officials say

In Tibet, the official death toll is 16, with 546 reported to be missing, according to Chinese state media –

[BBC]

Continue Reading

Foreign News

Ferry carrying 260 people capsizes off northern Cyprus coast

Published

on

By

A ferry carrying around 260 people has capsized off the coast of northern Cyprus with a search underway for survivors, according to local media.

The catamaran-style boat was travelling from the port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, and started sinking a few kilometres off the coast of the island state on Sunday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

[Aljazeera]

Continue Reading

Foreign News

Ex-White House teleprompter operator ordered to pay $172,000 for Trump speech bets

Published

on

By

The staffer was found to have made tens of thousands of dollars through betting on what the president would say in his speeches (BBC)

A former White House teleprompter operator has been ordered to pay more than $172,000 (£127,000) for using inside information to bet on US President Donald Trump’s speeches.

Gabriel Perez was found to have made trades on what the president would say during addresses between December 2025 and February 2026 on Kalshi – a prediction markets platform where users can bet on real-world events.

Its regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said Perez would have to surrender profits of $107,539.02 (£79,452) and pay a civil penalty of $65,000 (£48,000).

The White House has not yet commented. In July then press secretary Karoline Leavitt said  Perez was on unpaid leave and would not return to his post.

Announcing the settlement on Friday, the CFTC said Perez had “misappropriated” his prior knowledge of Trump’s speeches to place bets “in breach of his duty of trust and confidence”.

It said his civil penalty had been reduced due to his “exemplary co-operation” with the investigation.

Perez has also been banned from trading for three years.

Writing on X, Kalshi’s lead lawyer Bobby DeNault welcomed the decision: “It doesn’t matter who you are: violate our rules or federal law and you will face the consequences.”

(BBC)

Continue Reading

Trending