Controversial Republican lawmaker Jorge Santos voted out of the House of Representatives

This is only the sixth time in the history of the Council that such a severe punishment has been imposed on a representative. This is the first time that a member of Parliament who has not been convicted or accused of high treason has been impeached.

Santos, 35, was under pressure from a series of scandals immediately after his election last year. He was found to have lied on much of his CV and was forced to admit that he had never worked for Goldman Sachs or Citigroup. He also did not obtain a degree from New York University.

Santos was later arrested on charges of fraud and tampering with campaign funds. Among other things, he allegedly defrauded donors by debiting money from their credit cards without asking for permission. Santos has always denied all accusations.

A large number of fellow party members also voted against Santos: 105 Republicans, along with 206 Democrats, supported expulsion, and 112 Republicans and 2 Democrats wanted Santos to stay. A month ago, the House of Representatives also voted to impeach Santos. At that time there was not the necessary two-thirds majority. A report by the House Ethics Committee, which has since been released, accused Santos of “severely discrediting the House of Representatives.” This report made many MPs change their minds.

Santos’ fate was already discussed in the House of Representatives on Thursday. Even members of parliament supporting Santos reported that he used campaign funds for Botox treatments. His opponents pointed out how Santos discovered how family members survived the Holocaust and that his mother was in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

New elections must now be held in his New York district. Santos himself is no longer a candidate. If a Democrat wins, Republicans will still have a three-seat majority.