Santos Expelled From Congress

Former New York Congressman George Santos (R) has officially been expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives.

The vote was 311-114 and comes after a long battle to remove the controversial representative from office. Since being elected, Santos faced several claims against himself in which he was accused of lying. The accusations came to a peak when the House Ethics Committee released a scathing 56-page report.

Some of the biggest findings in the report showed that Santos spent large amounts of money on Botox, sexually themed websites and other purchases unrelated to his campaign and position. Furthermore, the representative made almost $800,000 in personal loans that were not "properly disclosed." Santos was also found to have been "reimbursed" for loans he didn't lend.

The former congressman previously stated that he would not seek reelection but also refused to step down. Moreover, some in the GOP expressed their disapproval of the decision to oust Santos from Congress.

Earlier in the year, he was confronted by Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) at the State of the Union. Later, when some House members pushed to expel him in early November, the majority voted against the motion so that he could receive due process. However, the tides have turned since the released evidence, and the former representative is officially out of the House.

Santos was often accused of lying about things such as his personal ties to events like the Holocaust and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Recently elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R) questioned the "precedent" that he thought was being set. In his statement, Rep. Johnson expressed his "real reservations" about Santos's ousting.

There have been a total of five lawmakers ousted from Congress, and only three--including Santos--since the Civil War. In each of the post-Civil War removals, there was a connection to a financial crime.