15-foot balloon Rep. Long Islander George Santos fluttered in the cold wind outside the Capitol on Tuesday as the lawmaker’s career and bloated appearance remained full of hot air.
The progressive group MoveOn Political Action commissioned the balloon, which depicts a caricature of Santos (R-NY), in an effort to encourage lawmakers to expel the scandal-plagued congressman.
MoveOn paraded a bespectacled Santos balloon wearing a tie that read, “Full of Lies.”
Inside the chamber of Congress, lawmakers revived efforts to consider a third bid to impeach Santos.
A vote on the measure is expected this week and follows a scathing report from the House Ethics Committee.
The House panel concluded that Santos “blatantly stole” from campaign funds and committed numerous ethical violations.
The report highlighted the staggering expenses Santos apparently made with donor money, including OnlyFans subscriptions, Botox, travel and more.
A balloon caricature of George Santos flies outside the Capitol on Tuesday. Getty Images for Congress MoveOn is set to consider a resolution to expel the scandal-plagued congressman this week. Getty Images
Although the report offered no specific punishment recommendations — which he bypassed to expedite the publication of the findings — Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) passed a resolution to fire him.
Guest introduced the resolution the day after the report was released, but due in part to the Thanksgiving break, the lower house did not immediately consider it.
On Tuesday, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) is pushing for his own deportation bill to be taken as a special measure, meaning it will get a vote this week.
Santos recently survived elimination earlier this month in an effort from fellow New York Republicans in a 213-179-19 vote. To pass, the removal measure must obtain a two-thirds majority.
This 15-foot-tall George Santos balloon was seen falling around Capitol Hill ahead of a third vote by the House to expel him. It was paid by @Proceed. ??pic.twitter.com/3xnoWcM6lP
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) November 28, 2023
The view of the lying congressman worsened when the ethics report was released. More than a dozen Republicans and Democrats who rejected the second attempt decided to reverse course.
Even Santos seems to think his days as a lawmaker are numbered.
“I knew I was going to be fired when the resolution of this removal became unclear,” he said at X Spaces the day after Thanksgiving.
“I’ve done the math over and over, and it doesn’t look very good.”
He insisted that he was “not going anywhere” even if he got the boot from Congress.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) revealed that he and Santos spoke “at length” over the Thanksgiving holiday about his options.
George Santos saw the writing on the wall and believed he was about to be fired. Reuters
Impeachment from Congress is extremely rare. Only five have ever gotten the boot in US history, with the most recent occurring in 2002 against former Rep. James Trafficant (D-Ohio).
Traficant was ousted 420 to 1 following federal convictions for bribery, income tax evasion and more.
Santos faces 23 counts of campaign malpractice, fraud and more. He has pleaded not guilty to all pending charges.
The Ethics Panel made a referral to the Department of Justice on findings it found that were allegedly not in the indictment.
Representations that challenge the truth. has placed much of the blame for his campaign finances on his former treasurer Nancy Marks, who pleaded guilty in the fall to falsifying campaign finance records.
Protesters want George Santos gone. Getty Images for MoveOn
Prosecutors cited correspondence between Marks and Santos in the sweeping indictment against him.
Although Santos has admitted fabricating much of his backstory and admitted there were issues with his campaign finances, he has criticized prosecutors and ethics investigators.
He also revealed that he will not seek re-election to the lower house.
Santos plans to air his grievances during an early morning press conference on Thursday.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
