On Friday, George Santos, the scandal-ridden member of the House of Representatives from New York, was finally expelled. Santos is facing numerous fraud charges that made his position untenable. According to a report in The Guardian, the vote to expel Santos was 311 for expulsion and 114 against. One hundred ten members of his party voted to remove him, which shows that he was seen as a liability within the party. According to a report in Reuters, he is only the sixth member of the House of Representatives expelled from the House in history. Despite all of the outcry over Santos, he still has some supporters. One in particular left a flower bouquet outside his recently vacated office.
Tag: Politics
A New Anti- Corruption Task Force in Australia?
The recently elected Labor government (similar to the Democrats in the U.S), led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, is planning to introduce new anti-corruption legislation. The main goal of this legislation is to set up a federal task force to oversee any anti-corruption investigations. In recent years, there have been several high-profile corruption scandals, including one involving a labor member of Parliament who accepted money from Chinese donors six years ago. According to Peter Hartcher of the Sydney Morning Herald, polling in Australia suggests that the public wants stronger A-C laws. Although bodies already exist at the state level in Australia dealing with this issue, this new legislation will be national. However, despite Albanese’s pledge to enact the law by the end of the year, there are signs that it could be held up by cross-bench members of Parliament who want an in-depth debate of the bill before enacting it. Its passage has also been held up by the passing of the Queen, which has caused Parliament to go into recess.