George Santos unwittingly trolls former colleague on Cameo after House expulsion: Latest
Disgraced former Congressman charges $200 for single video greeting
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Former Congressman George Santos is selling videos on Cameo, the site where celebrities offer short greetings for a fee.
Mr Santos was expelled from the House on Friday after more than a hundred Republicans joined almost all Democrats in voting to remove him from the chamber.
The 35-year-old describes himself as a “former congressional ‘Icon’” on the site, where he charges $200 per video. In one message, he told the buyer to “live life, laugh, and let the haters hate because they’re always gonna hate”.
Options to request include holiday messages, birthday wishes, some gossip, a pep talk, a roast, or some advice.
Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman’s social media team sent in a request for Mr Santos to do a pep talk for “Bobby from Jersey” in reference to New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez who stepped down as chair of the foreign relations committee after being indicted for allegedly taking bribes and acting as a foreign agent.
Mr Santos has joined only a handful of lawmakers ever ousted from their role, following a damning 56-page report from the House Ethics Committee which outlined “substantial evidence” that Mr Santos violated federal law.
Moment George Santos expelled from US House in landslide vote
George Santos has been expelled from the US House of Representatives after more than a hundred Republicans joined almost all Democrats in voting to remove him from the chamber. Mr Santos has been ousted from his role following a damning 56-page report from the House Ethics Committee which outlined “substantial evidence” that he violated federal law. The report claims Mr Santos used campaign money on Botox, OnlyFans, designer fashion and personal purchases. A two-thirds majority was needed to expel the New York representative – 311 members backed his ouster while 114 voted against it and two members voted present. Mr Santos is due to stand trial on 23 federal charges in September 2024.
Kimmel to Santos: ‘Have a good time in jail’
During his show on Thursday night, Mr Kimmel took aim at Mr Santos, expressing his disbelief at how long it has taken the House to expel him.
“This is like if a mental patient escaped the hospital and wandered into an air traffic control tower and then a year later he was still up there landing planes,” he joked.
Despite the uncertainty, Mr Kimmel noted that Mr Santos is making the most of his remaining time in the spotlight, holding a fiery press conference in front of the Capitol on Thursday in which he criticised Congress colleagues for “wasting the American people’s time”.
Jimmy Kimmel roasts George Santos ahead of expulsion vote
George Santos faces vote to expel him from the House on Friday
The George Santos chronicles: A timeline
Dogged by surely one of the oddest scandals to hit American politics in the last few years, Mr Santos faced calls for his expulsion and resignation even before he was seated as representative for New York’s 3rd Congressional District.
John Bowden takes a look back at how Mr Santos’ scandal-plagued political career evolved – from the beginning to its abrupt end:
From a resume of lies to an OnlyFans scandal: George Santos’s many controversies
Examining a play-by-play of the strangest scandal to hit DC in recent memory
Santos refuses to answer if he’s been asked to be on reality TV
On Thursday afternoon, Olivia Beavers of Politico asked Mr Santos if he had been asked to appear on a reality TV show.
“Olivia, I’m not going to answer that,” he said.
Garrett Haake of NBC News noted that it was “not a no”.
The many, many scandals of George Santos
Dogged by surely one of the oddest scandals to hit American politics in the last few years, Mr Santos has been facing calls for his expulsion and resignation even before he was seated as representative for New York’s 3rd Congressional District.
John Bowden takes a look back at how Mr Santos’ scandal-plagued political career evolved – from the beginning to its abrupt end:
From a resume of lies to an OnlyFans scandal: George Santos’s many controversies
Examining a play-by-play of the strangest scandal to hit DC in recent memory
Voices: George Santos may be gone - but there will be more of his kind
Eric Garcia writes:
George Santos got what he wanted.
I first realised this about the now-expelled New York Republican during the speaker’s race in October, when he started shouting at a pro-Palestinian activist who had questioned him earlier. I had caught him coming out of the meeting room in the Longworth House Office Building and asked him about Jim Jordan when he caught the activist and shouted “you are human scum.”
Immediately, all of the reporters moved from covering the GOP disarray and zeroed in on him, effectively turning it into a reality show. And that’s how he wanted it. He got all of the Washington press corps, the House Republican conference and even some Democrats to play along with his charade as he distracted from his legal troubles.
That’s why the House vote to expel him will not deter him. He turned every attempt to shame him into an opportunity. Furthermore, Republicans in the House of Representatives have created an ecosystem that disincentivizes policymaking and instead elevates people who see Congress as a way to build their brand rather than make a difference.
And the press is just as guilty of giving him what he wants as anyone else.
Read on...
George Santos may be gone - but there will be more of his kind
House Republicans reward carnival barkers while they create no incentive to do the actual work of governing
Who voted to expel Santos?
Less than half of Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to expel former congressman George Santos, but the ones who did so came mostly from endangered districts, swing states or were his fellow New Yorkers.
Mr Santos was one of 18 Republicans who in 2022 won in a district that had voted for President Joe Biden. All 17 of his fellow Biden-district Republicans--including his five fellow freshman Republicans in New York who won seats last year--voted to expel Mr Santos.
Other freshmen who flipped seats such as Reps Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon’s 5th district, Jen Kiggans of Virginia’s 2nd also voted to boot the 35-year-old. Many of them know that Mr Santos is a drag on their brand and needed to kick him out. For instance, Rep John Duarte of California’s 13th district, who also voted to expel, only won his district by 564 votes.
In addition, other Republicans such as Reps Don Bacon of Nebraska and Brian Fitzpatrick, who are considered more moderate Republicans who voted to certify the 2020 presidential election results, also voted to kick him out.
‘To hell with this place’
Rep George Santos reacted bitterly to his expulsion from the House of Representatives after saying before the vote that he would leave “graciously”.
“The House spoke, that’s their vote. They just set new dangerous precedent for themselves,” he said after the vote, according to CNN.
He was asked if he would remain and utilize his nonmember privileges since he’s not yet convicted of any crimes, he said: “Why would I want to stay here? To hell with this place.”
“I had no skin in the game,” he added when asked if he knew he was about to be removed.
“You know what? As unofficially no longer a member of Congress, I no longer have to answer your questions,” he told the press.
It was quite an exit as Eric Garcia and Gustaf Kilander report.
George Santos bitterly reacts to House expulsion: ‘To hell with this place’
‘Why would I want to stay here,’ 35-year-old says after refusing to resign despite calls to do so for months
The Fall of George Santos
Bevan Hurley reports on what we know about the rise and demise of George Anthony Devolder Santos — perhaps the most surreal saga to have occurred in the halls of Congress.
The incredible rise and dramatic fall of George Santos
The GOP lawmaker and suspected fraudster’s murky and ever-changing biography makes it difficult to parse truth from fiction, Bevan Hurley reports
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