WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Well, at least we know one part of Congress works efficiently: the security team.
A mere couple of hours after his expulsion from the House of Representatives, George Santos has already lost access to his office.
After a tumultuous 11 months in office, a resolution to expel Santos passed 311-114, with two voting present.
Shortly thereafter, a security team could be seen changing the locks to the now unoccupied office.
Santos had fought the expulsion effort, leading his own defense during House floor debate and in conducting a news conference and interviews.
“I will not stand by quietly,” Santos declared as lawmakers on Thursday evening debated his removal. “The people of the Third District of New York sent me here. If they want me out, you’re going to have to go silence those people and go take the hard vote.”
In early March, the House Ethics Committee announced it was launching an investigation into Santos. Then in May, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York indicted Santos, accusing him of duping donors, stealing from his campaign and lying to Congress. Prosecutors would later add more charges in an updated 23-count indictment.
The indictment alleges he stole the identities of campaign donors and then used their credit cards to make tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges. Federal prosecutors say Santos, who has pleaded not guilty, wired some of the money to his personal bank account and used the rest to pad his campaign coffers.
After Friday's vote, Santos is the sixth member in the chamber's history to be ousted by his fellow politicians.
Of the previous expulsions in the House, three were for disloyalty to the Union during the Civil War. The remaining two occurred after the lawmakers were convicted of crimes in federal court. Santos made his case for remaining in office by appealing directly to lawmakers who worry they are setting a new precedent that could make expulsions more common.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.