Former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was at the Capitol on Thursday despite being expelled in 2023 — but disguised as Santa Claus for a House Republican's holiday party.
Politico congressional reporter Olivia Beavers tweeted Thursday that Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) hinted that his office would get a visit from "Santos Claus" on Thursday afternoon, and the expelled New York Republican later made an appearance in a red suit and a fake beard.
Beavers noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) promptly disappeared almost as soon as Santos' pending appearance was announced. She posted photos of Burchett and Santos posing together with a tray of crackers and Easy Cheese, with the speaker nowhere in sight.
Santos became the first sitting member of the House of Representatives to get expelled in more than 20 years in December of 2023. The vote to remove him from Congress was lopsided, with 311 voting in favor and only 114 opposed. His removal resulted in Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) being elected to serve out the remainder of Santos' term in a February 2024 special election. Suozzi was reelected to a full two-year term in November.
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The bipartisan effort to expel Santos came after a damning House Committee on Ethics report in which the freshman New Yorker was found to have improperly spent campaign money on frivolous purchases. This reportedly included designer handbags and even online adult content subscriptions. Santos announced he wasn't running for reelection, but later said in a Twitter Spaces audio segment that his reported offenses were far from the worst he had allegedly seen from his colleagues in Congress.
"I have colleagues who are more worried about getting drunk every night with the next lobbyists they're going to screw and pretend like none of us know what's going on and sell off the American people," he said. "Not show up to vote because they're too hung over or whatever the reason is, or not show up to vote at all and just give their card out like f—ing candy for someone else to vote for them. This s— happens every single week... These members behave abominably."
Santos pleaded guilty in August to federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He's due to be sentenced in February and could serve up to 22 years in prison. He has agreed to pay restitution of approximately $373,000.
Click here to view Olivia Beavers' photos of Santos at Burchett's party.
