George Santos is still making headlines, even after being expelled from congress.
Last week, the House voted to expel GOP Representative George Santos.
The historic vote made the New York congressman the sixth lawmaker ever to be expelled from the chamber.
The vote also brought an end to a tumultuous tenure on Capitol Hill for the New York congressman, which was plagued with scandals.
Expulsion is the most severe form of punishment for a lawmaker in the House, requiring a two-thirds majority vote to succeed.
While Santos previously survived attempts to oust him, there was growing momentum for the latest effort after the House Ethics Committee released a long-awaited report.
The aforementioned report concluded that the congressman had “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.”
In the end, the resolution passed 311 to 114, with 105 Republicans voting with the overwhelming majority of Democrats in favor of expulsion.
Santos spoke to CNN after the vote to expel, simply saying: “It’s over.”
“The House spoke,” Santos said. “That’s their vote. They just set a new dangerous precedent for themselves.”
He concluded his statement by saying, “To hell with this place.”
Though Santos announced that he would not seek reelection following the release of the ethics report, he still refused to resign and denounced the investigation as “a disgusting politicized smear.”
The New York politician has separately pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges, including allegations of fraud related to Covid-19 unemployment benefits, misusing campaign funds, and lying about his personal finances on House disclosure reports.
In addition to the legal issues he faces, Santos has sparked shock and controversy on Capitol Hill over revelations that he fabricated large parts of his life story.
Now, significant elements of his resume and biography are all being questioned.
Following his expulsion, Santos quickly found another way to spend his time: Cameo, a website that allows users to purchase personalized videos from celebrities.
While he first hopped on the platform offering personalized videos for $75, he quickly saw an increase in demand and raised his prices to $400.
Santos’s appearance on the platform has reportedly been one of the strongest debuts for a celebrity on Cameo, with Cameo’s CEO, Steven Galanis, telling Semafor that the disgraced politician “is going to be an absolute whale.”
“Sarah Jessica Parker, Bon Jovi – he’s putting numbers up like that,” Galanis said of Santos.
Now, Santos is reportedly making six figures by selling videos on the platform, generating more income than his previous salary as a US congressman.
It’s not just fans who are getting in on the fun, though. Some of Santos’ fellow politicians are also hopping on the train to get personalized videos.
Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania paid Santos to make a Cameo in order to troll Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey.
“I thought my ethically-challenged colleague @BobMenendezNJ could use some encouragement given his substantial legal problems,” Fetterman wrote on X.
He continued, “So, I approached a seasoned expert on the matter to give ‘Bobby from Jersey’ some advice.”
The attached video shows Santos giving advice to “Bobby from Jersey” about how to stay strong.
“You stand your ground, sir,” he says in the clip. “And don’t get bogged down by all the haters out there.”
A spokesperson for Fetterman told Business Insider that Santos posted the Cameo just 16 minutes after it was requested. With taxes, fees, and an extra charge to deliver it within 24 hours, the Cameo cost Fetterman $343.20.
“We did not expect to get it back so fast,” the spokesperson said.
Menendez has been accused by federal prosecutors of taking bribes, including over $480,000 in cash, in exchange for secretly aiding the Egyptian government.