WASHINGTON — The House voted overwhelmingly to expel indicted Rep. George Santos on Friday, pulling the curtain down on a tempestuous term in office that was marred by revelations that he’d fabricated parts of his biography, a scathing House ethics investigation and a 23-count federal indictment charging him with crimes like wire fraud and money laundering.
The vote was 311-114, with two voting present. Santos had already put his winter jacket on and left the chamber before the vote total was announced.
Santos, R-N.Y., had survived two previous attempts to expel him this year — one in May and the other a month ago.
But Santos began losing significant support just before Thanksgiving after the bipartisan House Ethics Committee issued a damning 56-page report detailing allegations that Santos deceived his donors, filed false campaign statements and used campaign money to fund his lavish lifestyle.
Among the things he spent campaign funds on were rent, luxury designer goods, personal trips to Las Vegas and the Hamptons, cosmetic treatments, including Botox, and a subscription to the adult-content site OnlyFans, the report said.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said his leadership team wouldn’t whip the vote one way or the other, instead allowing members to “vote their conscience.” But just before the vote, he and his team came out in opposition to removing the freshman fabulist.
Johnson had previously signaled he would oppose expulsion, saying: “I personally have real reservations about things. I’m concerned about a precedent that may be set.”
Santos quickly became a political liability for a handful of vulnerable New York Republicans who were part of his same freshman class; his fellow New Yorkers — including Reps. Anthony D’Esposito, Nick LaLota and Marc Molinaro — led the push to oust him.
And while Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., authored this particular expulsion resolution, he said he had closely coordinated with the New Yorkers to ensure they were the ones who forced the vote this week on the matter.
Just 11 months into his first term in Congress, Santos has admitted to lying about his background but denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the nearly two dozen federal charges. He has repeatedly rejected calls from his colleagues to resign, including at a chilly early-morning news conference outside the Capitol on Thursday.
“Because if I leave, they win,” a defiant Santos told reporters. “This is bullying.”
He added: “I’m 35 years old. ... It doesn’t mean it’s goodbye forever.”
His likely expulsion puts him in rare company: He is now just the sixth person in U.S. history to be expelled from the House of Representatives. Three were ejected for disloyalty after they supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. Two others — Michael Myers, D-Pa., and James Traficant, D-Ohio — were expelled in 1980 and 2002, respectively, after they were convicted of federal crimes.
This article first appeared on NBCNews.com.