George Santos is gone! Here's why.

Inside the Republican brain.

(Expelled!)

Just before noon on Friday, the U.S. House expelled New York Republican Rep. George Santos from its midst.

In the end, the vote wasn’t particularly close. Which makes sense given the allegations against Santos — including the gross misuse of campaign funds for things like Botox, subscriptions to Only Fans and personal trips to Vegas and the Hamptons. (Santos faces a variety of federal charges related to his conduct.)

I’ve admitted — publicly — that I’ve sort of lost interest in this story. Santos is a serial fabulist. It’s well documented. He did things you just can’t do. But, beyond that, I don’t find him particularly compelling. He’s what happens when you have a reality TV society.

But, something DID happen in the run-up to Friday’s expulsion vote that did intrigue me — and it’s worth exploring that a bit.