Protesters Fly Giant George Santos Balloon Near U.S. Capitol Ahead of Second Expulsion Vote: 'Full of Lies'

Rep. George Santos' days in Congress may be numbered, as campaigns to expel the first-term Republican swell on both sides of the political aisle — and among members of the public.

On Tuesday, activists with progressive advocacy group MoveOn took over the National Mall with a message for lawmakers arriving at the U.S. Capitol: "Expel Santos." But they didn't only raise signs calling for his ousting; they debuted a giant balloon in Santos' likeness to amplify the point.

The 15-foot inflatable — depicting the New York congressman wearing a tie that reads, "Full of Lies" — tumbled around the lawn and floated through the air as demonstrators surrounded it.

The activists' signs featured messages like, "George Santos: Blowing Off His Constituents," and "Expel Santos — He's Full of Lies."

Santos' short political career has been overshadowed by scandal from day one.

Weeks after Santos flipped a House seat red in the 2022 midterm elections, a bombshell New York Times report claimed that large portions of his resume could not be substantiated. But what began as an embarrassment for Santos — he'd been caught exaggerating his education, fabricating his employment history and sharing misleading details about his upbringing — quickly turned serious, as allegations of fraud and questions about his finances arose.

By the time Santos was sworn in to the House in January, he was already under state and federal investigation. He was ultimately charged with 23 federal counts, including money laundering, identity theft, theft of public funds, falsifying records, and making false statements to the House of Representatives. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

A resolution to expel Santos failed to pass earlier this month, but the situation changed two weeks later, when the House Ethics Committee released the findings of its monthslong probe into Santos' conduct. In the committee's report, it claimed to have gathered "substantial evidence" that Santos engaged in "uncharged and unlawful conduct," including allegedly using campaign donations to buy Botox injections, and make purchases at Sephora, Hermes and OnlyFans.

"Representative George Santos cannot be trusted," the House Ethics Committee declared in the report. "At nearly every opportunity, he placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles."

Within hours of the reports' release, Santos announced he would suspend his 2024 reelection campaign. In the absence of an immediate resignation, House Ethics Chair Michael Guest spearheaded the charge to once again seek an expulsion of the congressman.

A new vote on whether to expel him is expected this week — and this time around, Santos said, he believes it will be successful.

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Activists at MoveOn have long joined in the calls to expel Santos. “I can’t believe we have to say this, but a member of Congress has no business using campaign funds to pay for Botox treatments and lavish Atlantic City trips," MoveOn executive director Rahna Epting said in a statement following the House Ethics Committee's weigh-in.

She continued: "What more do we need to know? Expel George Santos. New York 3rd District residents deserve real representation—not a lying lawmaker cheating the system at every opportunity for his own gain.”