Removing Santos for the accusations against him was the right choice
By: Weston Tregay
Imagine reading a news article about a congressman being charged with theft in relation to an Amish dog breeder? Quite the unexpected headline, no? But when considering the congressman in question, George Santos, the American population has come to expect the unexpected. Recently, in a vote that only required a two-thirds majority, George Santos was expelled from Congress in a landslide vote of 311-114. But what compelled 105 of his colleagues in the GOP to remove him from the House of Representatives? Mr. Santos, the Republican representative from Queens, New York was removed from Congress on December 1st, after only eleven months in office. He was rightfully expelled from Congress due to his numerous accusations but also because Congress needs to uphold the precedent that criminals should not be allowed to run our country.
George Santos Claiming that he is Jewish in front of the republican Jewish Coalition (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/george-Santos-jewish-for-the-jokes)
Mr. Santos, a fraudulent man in both his money and his words, should not have been allowed to be one of the few people in all of America who possess direct power over the direction of our country. In total, he was charged with 23 allegations, most of which are related to financial crime and embellishment of federal disclosure documents. Of the allegations that he faces, the most prominent were his embezzlement of campaign funds, which he used to support his wealthy lifestyle. Not only is this a federal crime, it is a complete betrayal of voters and abuse of trust. Campaign donors put their money into candidates with the hope that they will use it for legitimate purposes, hoping to fuel political change. They do not intend to support frauds who go on to abuse their trust and financial support by—according to the House Ethics Report—spending his money on luxury items, OnlyFans, and Botox.
Santos’ credibility was not built on legitimacy either, as he has been accused of falsifying information on his resume. He lied about his college degree—he pursued no higher education than a high school diploma—while fabricating lies about his religion and several sad stories to garner voter sympathy. While only having a high school diploma is not inherently a bad thing, lying about it to voters is deception. Furthermore, lying to a room of Jewish Republicans about his adherence to their religion is a blatant attack on the trust and faith of a religious group. He claimed “to be ‘a proud American Jew’” just to win over votes. On several occasions, Santos betrayed the trust and support of the people that he deceived with his elaborate lies. A congressman’s job is to be the voice of the people, but after all of these lies, it’s difficult to trust his words.The vote to cast Santos out had major implications for the current and future generations of Congress. For the status quo, it means that a lying fraud is no longer representing the greed and crime of America. In the long run, this vote sets a new precedent for all members of Congress: that any member be voted out of office on the basis of a conviction for a crime, as Santos has yet to be found guilty in a court of law for his behavior. The vote proved that Congress is able to see an obvious fraud when presented with one like Santos, and can hold onto its dignity knowing that they were able to expel this criminal.
George Santos leaving the capitol following his expulsion (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/01/gop-rep-george-Santos-faces-expulsion-vote-in-house.html )
