George Santos joins Cameo as 'former congressional icon' after expulsion vote
NEW YORK - George Santos has now joined Cameo as a "former congressional icon" after being expelled from Congress in a vote Friday.
Santos also notes on his profile that he's "The Expelled member of Congress from New York City."
Cameo is an app that allows users to pay public figures and celebrities to send personal messages. Santos's account is currently charging $200 per video.
The price was previously $150.
Site visitors not interested in a video can purchase a direct message to Santos instead for $10.
"Megan, how are you darling? I hear you're getting some tough heat in the press," Santos says in one video posted to his profile.
"Make sure you stand strong for Israel and never back down," Santos says in another video message in which he wishes "Jack" a happy birthday.
The House voted on Friday to expel Republican Rep. George Santos of New York after a critical ethics report on his conduct that accused him of converting campaign donations for his own use. He was just the sixth member in the chamber's history to be ousted by colleagues.
The vote to expel was 311-114. Expulsion requires support from two-thirds of the House, a purposefully high bar, but a blistering House Ethics Committee report that accused Santos of breaking federal law proved decisive.
Political analyst Michael Dawidziak says Santos should be focusing on the 23-count federal indictment he pleaded not guilty to.
Over the weekend, the former congressman took to social media announcing plans to file ethics complaints against New Jersey democrat Rob Menendez as well as New York Republicans Nick LaLota, Nicole Maliotakis and Mike Lawler.
"One thing I’ve cared about, win or lose elections, is my integrity," Rep. Lawler said.
Santos also sounded off on social media endorsing former police officer and security expert Mike Sapraicone who is running as a GOP for the now vacant seat.
Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club on Wednesday, January 25, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"His endorsement is as relative as he is," he said. "As far as I’m concerned, he’s nothing more than a crook and a fraud, and he should’ve been removed from Congress a long time ago."
As New York Governor Kathy Hochul prepares to announce a date for a special election to replace Santos - experts expect it to be an expensive, hard fought race.
"It’s a seat that has been represented by Democrats and Republicans in this past," Dawidziak said.
Both parties tell FOX 5 they hope to announce their nominees by the end of this week or sometime next. The Democrats are interviewing several candidates. The Republicans are vetting approximately 20, and they have also retained a private background research firm.
Both parties plan to conduct thorough background checks.
Associated Press staff writer Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.