Who is George Santos?

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why in the News?
• Background on US Congress
• About George Santos
• Why Was George Santos Expelled?
• George Santos’ Argument

Why in the News?

• George Santos, a member of the United States Congress, has been expelled from the House, over criminal corruption charges and accusations of misspending campaign money.
• The US Lawmakers backed the expulsion resolution 311 to 114, with 206 Democrats and 105 Republicans voting in favour.

Background on US Congress

• The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States.
• It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate.
• Members:
  • The Congress has 535 members: 100 senators and 435 representatives.
• Term:
  • Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms and are considered for reelection every even year.
  • Senators however, serve six-year terms and elections to the Senate are staggered over even years so that only about 1/3 of the Senate is up for reelection during any election.
• Representation of States:
  • Each state sends two Senators to represent their state in the U.S. Senate.
  • However, in the House of Representatives, a state’s representation is based on its population.
  • For example, smaller states like Vermont and Delaware have one representative while large states like California have 53 representatives.

About George Santos

• George Santos, 35, was elected from New York’s 3rd congressional district in the mid-term elections in 2022.
• A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to Congress in 2022 after running unsuccessfully in 2020.
  • George Santos was a member of the House of Representatives.
• He was expelled from Congress on December 1, 2023 which made Santos the sixth person to be expelled in the history of the House.

Why Was George Santos Expelled?

• Fake Identity:
  • The New York Times found out that he did not graduate from the college where he claimed to have studied.
  • Nor did he work in Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, or start an animal rescue charity as he claimed.
  • His repeated claims of having descended from Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust were also found to be untrue.
• Multiple Criminal Allegations:
  • George Santos also faces multiple allegations of criminality.
  • These include pocketing funds ostensibly raised for animal welfare to skimming card information from ATMs.
  • In May, 2023, he pled guilty and agreed to pay fines in a remote court hearing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in a cheque-book fraud case.
  • In May, the Department of Justice slapped Santos with 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, stealing public funds and lying on federal disclosure forms, and (briefly) took him into custody
• Ethics Committee Report:
  • An ethics committee, set up by the Congress, found that Santos “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.”
  • The pattern of personal use of campaign money was so extensive, that the report claimed that Santos’ election “has called into question the integrity of the House.”

George Santos’ Argument

• He said that he would file an ethics complaint against three fellow Republicans from New York.
• However, he offered no proof of wrongdoing against any of the three.

Q1) What is the best definition of Bicameral?

Bicameral literally means “two chambers,” and in practice refers to a government structure involving two houses, or two legislative bodies, that are separate in deliberation from one another.

Q2) What is the veto power of the American president?

In the United States, the president can use the veto power to prevent a bill passed by the Congress from becoming law. Congress can override the veto by a two-thirds vote of both chambers.

Source: U.S. House expels New York Representative George Santos | Indian Express