George Santos returning to Congress as 'Santos Claus' riles up Internet: 'This is so bizarre'

WASHINGTON, DC: Expelled Congressman George Santos was back at the Capitol Hill on Thursday, December 5, dressed as Father Christmas, reported The Hill.

According to the publication, the Republican US Representative from New York was ousted from Congress in December 2023 after a scathing report from the House Ethics Committee provided evidence of him being engaged in serious crimes, including campaign finance violations.

Santos had served in Congress for only 11 months before he was ousted and shortly afterward announced that he would be selling videos on the online video-sharing platform Cameo.

Why did George Santos return to Capitol Hill?

George Santos went back to Capitol Hill to the popular annual 15-minute Christmas party, hosted by Representative Tim Burchett (R-Tenn).

Burchett reportedly hosts a quick Christmas party to ring in the holidays in Congress every year, according to The Hill. While the event stretched to 16 minutes the previous year, he was determined to wrap up within the scheduled duration this time around.

Sharing the invite on social media, Burchett joked, "I will be kicking people out after the 15 minutes are up." He started the party in 2022 and reportedly hinted of a "celebrity Santa Claus" being present this time round.

The Santa turned out to be Santos who also took to the social media platform X to share pictures from the event.

"It was absolutely fabulous to bring joy to the broken spirits of Capitol Hill, he wrote in his post. "Santos-Claus is giving Santa-Claus the run for his money… Who said the immigrant class doesn’t outwork the white folks? Merry Christmas and Happiest of Holidays everyone!" the post added.

While leaving the party, Santos delivered a parting jibe about his expulsion, saying, "I have PTSD from this place."

Internet trolls George Santos' appearance in Congress

Netizens were less than thrilled to see the expelled Congressman return to Capitol Hill for a Christmas party. The following tweets demonstrate their takes.

"This entire situation is so bizarre," wrote a user.

"Do you guys ever do work over there or is it all just antics like this?" inquired another.

"Congress is not a real place lol," quipped a third.

"Why is he dressed as Santa?? Only way to sneak into a political event with his reputation??" jibed a fourth.

"We’re not a serious country," noted a fifth.

"That one former co-worker who got fired but still shows up to work to chat," mocked yet another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.