'Bye George!': Social media reacts to 'unfit to serve' George Santos’ expulsion from Congress

01 December 2023

Friday morning, December 1 was full of major news events. After reporting that former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor had died at 93, MSNBC later shifted its coverage to another breaking story: the U.S. House of Representatives' vote on whether or not to expel Rep. George Santos, who is facing criminal corruption charges.

The vote did not go Santos' way: in a 311-114 vote, the embattled Republican was expelled from the House.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska), who is conservative but not far-right, was among the Republicans who voted to oust Santos. Bacon told MSNBC that although Santos' expulsion made the GOP's narrow House majority even smaller, he had no regrets about his vote, saying Santos' behavior was intolerable. And Rep. Mike Lawler (R-New York) told MSNBC he voted to oust Santos because he was clearly "unfit to serve."

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MSNBC elections expert Steve Kornacki emphasized that Santos' expulsion could make it easier for Democrats to retake the House. Santos' district in Queens and Long Island, Kornacki noted, is an "unlikely district" for a Republican to win.

Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), describing Santos' behavior as "egregious," told MSNBC's José Díaz-Balart, "It is a very sad day that we had to remove a colleague, but it had to be done…. The evidence was very clear…. No one has the right to be in Congress; it is a privilege we have to earn every single day."

X, formerly Twitter, is full of reactions to Santos' expulsion.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted, "Long Island and Queens deserve better."

On X, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced, "I am prepared to undertake the solemn responsibility of filling the vacancy in New York's 3rd District. The people of Long Island deserve nothing less."

Liberal/progressive economist Robert Reich tweeted, "George Santos may be gone from Congress, but a majority of Republicans voted against expelling him — including the entire House GOP leadership. The Republican Party once again showed that it doesn't really care about ethics or the law, only power."

The Daily Beast's Justin Barragona observed, "CNN's Manu Raju and other reporters try to get a word with George Santos after the House votes to expel him. He says nothing, jumps into a car, and quickly leaves the scene."

Former Chicago Tribune editor Mark Jacob slammed Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York) for continuing to support Santos.

Jacob tweeted, "Elise Stefanik is standing by George Santos. Because Stefanik isn't just occasionally corrupt. She's consistently corrupt.

Tweeting video of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) being interviewed by Fox News, MeidasTouch posted, "Important reminder: When Kevin McCarthy was Speaker, he told Fox he wished that George Santos had more power than President Biden."

Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director of New York Campaign for Health, commented, "And with George Santos expelled from Congress, so concludes the year long lesson on why candidates should do opposition research and run background checks on their opponents."

Podcast host Brian J. Karem tweeted, "George Santos is expelled from the House. Bye George! Happy Friday!"

Sex columnist Dan Savage is not sorry to see Santos go. Savage — who, like the former congressman, is openly gay — has been vehemently critic of him for allying himself with anti-gay Republicans.

Savage tweeted, "Fun fact: I called George Santos a dumb f***** on my podcast in 2019 and he threatened to sue me. Back then, he was just a gay Trump supporter that I had no respect for. Now, he's such a perfect distillation of our political moment that I can't help but admire him."

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