The short, strange congressional career of George Santos came to an abrupt end Friday morning, as the House of Representatives voted 311-114 to expel him from the chamber.
Santos, who represented his constituents in Nassau County and Queens for a little under 11 months, left the Capitol as his fate became clear and hopped into a waiting car.
Below, The Post explains where Congress, the voters and Santos himself go from here.
How rare is an expulsion from the House of Representatives?
The House began work on April 1, 1789, 234 years ago. In that time it has only expelled six members — and just three since the Civil War.
The first three lawmakers to get the boot — John Bullock Clark and John William Reid (D-Mo.) and Henry Cornelius Burnett (D-Ky.) — were expelled for leading Confederate regiments against Union troops in 1861, though Reid had technically resigned his seat four months prior to his expulsion.
After the war, the House did not expel a member again until 1980, when Rep. Michael Myers (D-Pa.) was tossed out after he was caught on a hidden video accepting a bribe of $50,000 from undercover FBI agents as part of the bureau’s Abscam corruption investigation.
A little more than two decades later, a corruption case claimed another House Democrat, James Traficant of Ohio, who was expelled in July 2002 after being convicted three months earlier of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion.
Which brings us to Santos, who awaits trial on nearly two dozen federal counts including campaign finance fraud, embezzlement, and lying to Congress.
With Friday’s vote, the 35-year-old has earned the dubious distinction of being the first Republican House member to be expelled.
When might there be a vote on replacing Santos?
Per New York state law, Gov. Kathy Hochul has ten days to announce the date of a special election to replace Santos.
That election must be held between 70 and 80 days of her announcement — setting up a special vote before the end of February.
“I am prepared to undertake the solemn responsibility of filling the vacancy in New York’s 3rd District,” Hochul said in a statement on X following Santos’ expulsion. “The people of Long Island deserve nothing less.”
Who might replace Santos in Congress?
Santos announced earlier this month he would not seek a second term in 2024, but his sordid past meant he had no shortage of challengers.
On the Republican side, Bayside small business owner Daniel Norber, retired NYPD detective Mike Sapraicone, and Afghanistan war veteran and former JP Morgan vice president Kellen Curry are among those challenging for the seat.
Contenders on the Democratic side include former state Sen. Anna Kaplan, Nassau County Legislator Josh Lafazan, St. John’s University professor William Murphy and activist Zak Malamed.
The contest in New York’s Third District is expected to be one of the most closely contested of next year’s cycle. Santos defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman by 7.5 percentage points in 2022, but the Cook Political Report rates the district’s Partisan Voting Index as narrowly in favor of Democrats.
What’s next for the House?
The removal of Santos means the Republican majority has shrunk by one.
With 434 members, the House now has 221 Republicans and 213 Democrats, creating a headache for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) — who can only afford to lose three GOP votes and pass bills along party lines. (Tie votes fail in the House.)
Johnson’s headache may be even worse if Democrats snatch the special election, giving them another seat at a time when the deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown would be fast approaching.
What’s next for Santos?
The now-former congressman will have nearly a full year to prepare his defense before his federal trial in the Eastern District of New York begins Sept. 9, 2024.
Santos will face an uphill battle to avoid conviction after two of his associates — former campaign treasurer Nancy Marks and ex-fundraiser Samuel Miele — pleaded guilty to related charges in the case.
Marks admitted to fraud conspiracy, telling authorities she and Santos falsified financial reports to say that he loaned his own campaign $500,000 in order to lure would-be donors.
Marks also said in a prepared statement that she had provided the Federal Election Commission with a false list of people who had supposedly given money to the campaign, but had actually done no such thing
Miele pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud after defrauding donors by posing as a top aide to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in calls and emails.
Santos was initially hit with a dozen federal charges in May for alleged false statements, money laundering, fraud and theft — including claims that he embezzled $50,000 in campaign money to buy designer clothing and pay personal expenses.
Federal prosecutors alleged that the scandal-plagued Santos also bilked COVID unemployment benefits and lied to Congress on financial disclosure forms where he claimed to be a millionaire.
With reporting by Carl Campanile