♪ this is "nightline." >> juju: tonight, george santos. >> the resolution is adopted. >> juju: expelled after an historic vote. his brief stint as a congressman marred by lies and scandal, including charges that he misused campaign funds to pay for botox, trips to las vegas, and clothes. >> i'm going to sleep a lot

better, knowing that excuse for a person is not in power. >> juju: santos denies those allegations and remains defiant. >> did you use campaign funds to pay for botox, for rent? >> it's not smart to do that. >> juju: questions about his stunning rise. >> i take full responsibility for it. it was mistake. >> juju: even more stunning fall. golden couple. >> will you marry me? >> yes. yes! >> juju: the golden bachelor is single no more. >> you found your person. >> i did. >> juju: finding love in a stunning finale. his search for "the one" delivering juggernaut ratings, drama, and controversy. >> everything you told me the other night was a lie? >> i took a good person and broke their heart. >> is it fair to say that you fell in love with multiple women? >> juju: the history-making season also giving visibility to finding love later in life. >> it was life-changing for us. we did feel seen. >> juju: how they plan to share their wedding with bachelor nation.

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♪ ♪ >> juju: thanks for joining us. we begin with one fewer republican in the house of representatives. new york's george santos expelled in a rare and historic vote on capitol hill. how his dramatic ouster could

impact the gop's razor-thin majority. here's abc's senior congressional correspondent rachel scott. >> what's your reaction to the expulsion? >> reporter: this morning after serving for just under 11 months, embattled republican congressman george santos voted out of office. >> two-thirds voting in the affirmative, the resolution is adopted. >> reporter: 105 yes votes coming from his own party. santos walking out before the official vote was announced. >> did you know this was how it was going to go? >> reporter: defiant as ever with these parting words for reporters. >> unofficially i'm no longer a member of congress, i no longer have to field questions from you guys. that is the one thing. >> reporter: office locks changed, name plate removed. santos becomes only the sixth member of the house of representatives to be ousted in u.s. history. >> this is a very rare event that we saw, house members voting to remove one of their own.

their razor-thin majority becomes even thinner. it's going to become even more difficult for speaker mike johnson to be able to push forward conservative agenda items in the house of representatives. >> reporter: his removal coming after hours of house debate yesterday. republicans cautioning against removing a member who hasn't been convicted of a crime. >> kicking out mr. santos is setting a very dangerous precedent. >> reporter: democrats saying santos was kept around to help his party's slim majority. >> house republicans needed george santos' vote. >> reporter: since being elected last year to new york's 3rd district, his propensity for seeming to lie invited endless scrutiny and became fodder for parody on "saturday night live." >> everything out of your mouth is a lie. you lied about being jewish. are you even gay? >> of course, i was the one at stonewall who said, here's an idea, you guys should kiss.

>> reporter: his expulsion ultimately came after he was accused of a slew of financial crimes, including spending thousands from his campaign on personal expenses like rent, designer clothes, botox, and purchases on the website onlyfans known for its adult content. he denies the allegations. >> there had been near-constant scandal surrounding george santos from the moment that he stepped foot on capitol hill. and during his entire tenure as a congressman, that did not stop. >> reporter: there were questions raised about santos before he was elected, including from a local long island paper, "the north shore leader." >> people in the newspaper had spoken to him. they knew he was a liar. >> reporter: democrat robert zimmerman, who challenged santos, said he tried to bring attention to that reporting. >> we gave it out door to door, it was very hard to get oxygen around it. >> reporter: santos won by 8

percentage points in a district biden carried in 2020. >> i take full responsibility for it. it was a mistake. we're going to correct that mistake. >> reporter: george cairo is the gop chair of the new york county that's partially in santos' district. he says at the time, santos was the only option for republicans. >> he wanted to win. seemed passionate. seemed like a good choice. and we went with him. turned out to be a terrible mistake. earlier this year, we will call for him to step down. but i take full responsibility. >> reporter: the now-disgraced politician ran on the promise that anyone can succeed in our country. >> as your congressman, i pledge to protect the american dream for all. >> reporter: a young, gay, brazilian american republican seen by some as what could be the future of the party. but it turned out his resume was littered with false claims. from the schools he says he attended, the prestigious horace mann high school, new york university. he said he was a top volleyball player at baruch college. the kicker, he never even went.

to his work history, citigroup, goldman sachs, which he even testified to under oath. none of it true. he also falsely linked himself to various tragedies and identities. >> i've seen how socialism destroys people's lives because my grandparents survived the holocaust. i'm a jew, trust me. >> reporter: he later attempted to clarify his connection to judaism. >> my heritage is jewish, i've always identified as jewish, i was raised a practicing catholic, i've joked with friends, even in the campaign, "i'm jew-ish." >> reporter: he said his mom died from complications caused by 9/11 when she wasn't even in the u.s. at the time of the attacks. >> how do you hope your constituents can trust you even though you've misrepresented your biography to them? >> reporter: his financials traemt attracting the most serious attention. in his disclosure report last year he reported assets between

$2 million and $11 million, after a salary of just $55,000 in 2020. in may, federal prosecutors slapped him with 13 charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, making false statements. one of the charges stemming from allegations of unemployment fraud. >> why would you apply for unemployment benefits when you had a job making $120,000 a year? >> this is part of my defense, this is inaccurate information, i will get to clear my name on this, during the pandemic it wasn't very clear, i don't understand where the government's getting their information, but i will present my taxes. >> reporter: more charges brought against santos for allegingly stealing from donors and falsifying campaign filings. >> i have no clue, no clue what was you guys are talking about. no, i will not. excuse me, pardon me. >> reporter: november, the house ethics committee released a blistering report building on those charges. regardless of what this report says, is your plan to fully serve, stay in congress, not

resign? >> like i said, i'm staying in office for sure. >> reporter: santos pleaded not guilty to all federal charges. it's not just constituents, colleagues, and donors who say congressman santos has lied to them. how would you describe george santos? >> compulsive liar. compulsive isn't even the word. i think he needs to lie more than he needs to breathe. >> reporter: richard says he never thought he'd fall victim to a con artist. he says santos' animal charity helped raise money for his dog sapphire's expensive surgery. richard says the money that could have saved sapphire never came through and the pitbull died three months later. >> $ see a penny? >> no, all i saw was heartbreak and frustration. >> reporter: a source close to the gofundme confirmed it was george santos who ran the

account to help sapphire. abc news asked george santos if he remembered richard. >> do you remember the gentleman who claims that you took money from -- >> he claimed he never met me, and i never met him. it's on the record. >> for him to not be embarrassed, laughing and smiling like it's nothing, being so notch rant about it, it's disgusting. it's so strange and surreal. who is george santos? nobody knows. >> reporter: santos' expulsion from congress today a small bit of closure for richard. >> i'm going to sleep a lot better, knowing that that excuse for a person is not in power, doesn't have any type of voting rights in congress anymore. he was dangerous. i'll feel fully vindicated when he's locked up. >> reporter: santos' trial for the federal charges is scheduled for next september. >> some of the charges he's facing are very serious. there are some charges and counts that call for jail time of up to 20 years.

>> reporter: new york governor kathy hochul now has ten days to schedule a special election to fill santos' seat. >> there are going to be efforts on the part of republicans to try and keep that seat within republican hands. but it's going to be an uphill battle for them after all of this. >> juju: our thanks to rachel. coming up, golden couple. america's golden bachelor handing out his final rose and his heart in a dramatic finale. the feeling of finding the psoriasis treatment she's been looking for. sotyktu is the first-of-its-kind, once-daily pill for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis for the chance at clear or almost clear skin. it's like the feeling of finding your back... is back. or finding psoriasis can't deny the splendor of these thighs. once-daily sotyktu is proven to get more people clearer skin than the leading pill.

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>> juju: more than 6 million people tuned in to watch the pin.finale of "the golden bachelor," the best audience in years for the franchise. i sat down with the golden couple at a secret location before all the drama, tears, and last-minute controversy kept viewers riff vitt vetted. 22 women of a certain age. seven rose ceremonies. a few tearful good-byes. >> it's been a joy getting to know you. >> thank you. >> and you have a good heart. >> i wish you well. >> juju: and a bombshell. >> i took a good person and broke their heart. >> juju: america's golden bachelor is officially off the market. >> will you marry me? >> yes! yes! >> juju: america's september wa genarian sweethearts are engaged. i met up with the couple at a top secret location before all the hoopla and controversy to talk about how it all went down.

you found your person. >> i did. >> juju: hello, person. >> hey. >> juju: what's it like to be found? >> amazing. amazing. >> juju: you proposed. >> i did. >> yeah, yeah. yeah. >> juju: yes? >> yes, yes! >> thank you. >> juju: it's been a history-making season, delivering the long-running tv series its biggest premiere audience in years. >> awesome! >> juju: 13.9 million viewers, shining a spotlight on finding love in the golden years of life. it arizonaed out that the women there felt seen, they felt excited, they felt sexy, they felt desirable. >> it was that. it was life-changing for us that we did feel seen, we did feel like we were important, and that they were telling our story. this is amazing, that this is happening at this time in our lives. >> juju: their road to the mansion was similar, encouraged by their daughters to apply. their grief from losing their

spouses turning out to be their ice breaker. you've bonded on this loss, this grief you share. when you first were talking about it, that you didn't cry, you were both calm? >> because we understood what each had gone through. >> it may have been one of the first times i talked about it and i didn't cry. because i knew she understood. >> juju: how would you describe the other pieces that make this puzzle fit? >> the sense of humor we share is huge. i'm finding that she is very good at keeping me grounded. >> juju: when did sparks fly for you? >> immediately when i met him. then sitting on the bench. >> you ready? >> yes. >> then that date was out of this world amazing. >> that's what you need to wake up each morning, you don't stop believing. >> then this incredible flash mob. ♪ don't stop believing ♪ >> juju: despite the sparks,

teresa says she needed to take a step back and let gary go on his own journey. >> we had beautiful, wonderful women there. they're amazing. >> juju: gerry finding himself on a roller coaster of emotions, admitting at times he felt like a hypocrite, especially in those final few days. >> i felt like a villain at t times. >> juju: one of the times when you were cast as the villain was when i do said to leslie, "i think you're the one." >> i think you're the one. i think you're that one. >> juju: in true bachelor nation fashion, the finale served up one last twist. >> i have fallen in love with teresa. and that's the direction i'm going to take. >> so everything you told me the other night was a lie. it's difficult, my life. >> no, don't think that. >> it doesn't matter, gerry, no offense.

i don't -- i don't think i'll ever [ bleep ] the right one. right now i'm heartbroken. >> juju: the raw emotions devastating to watch. >> i hate myself, i hate everything right now. >> juju: you were also required to be a heartbreaker. >> yes. it is an artificial environment. i didn't realize how impactful it would be. >> juju: is it fair to say that you fell in love with multiple women? >> it is, but there's -- you know, there's varying degrees. you know, i had such strong feelings for several of the last women, not just -- i can't single out just one. but you know, again, i always reminded myself, i'm here to find my person and find the one person that i can't live without. and that was the dividing line for me. >> juju: another thing bachelor nation was buzzing about before the finale, a news story reportedly about gerry's resume and dating history, something

abc publicity declined to comment on. as for what comes next for the happy couple, bachelor nation should look for a wedding invite in the new year. the two agreeing to tie the knot on national tv. what made you decide that? >> you know, there's -- there's just -- there's a certain amount of time involved when you get to 70. when you realize it's right, i was 100% in. you know, let's get married, let's go right now. we have so much that we have to live for. so many things we want to do together. >> juju: you've become a cultural phenomenon. and now the both of you. >> that's a huge compliment. it's not just about me. remember, 22 women were there. teresa was there. and it's like, we are not invisible. we are someone, a generation that has much to offer, and we've generated some wisdom along the way. so listen to us once in a while. >> yeah, yeah.

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>> juju: finally tonight, tributes for sandra day o'connor, the first woman appointed to the u.s. supreme court. it was president ronald reagan who nominated the rancher's daughter and self-described arizona cowgirl to the nation's highest court in 1981. >> she is truly a person for all seasons, possessing those unique qualities of temperament, fairness, intellectual capacity, and devotion to the public good. >> juju: she was just 16 when she left home to attend stanford university. after excelling in her law school class, she told george stephanopoulos she could only get a job at a legal secretary. >> you graduated the top of your class in law school and can't get a job as a lawyer? >> not even an interview, much less a job. isn't that amazing? times change, but that was at a time in the middle of the last century when women weren't hired as lawyers. >> juju: o'connor persevered, eventually serving as a district

attorney, a state senator, and a judge. her supreme court appointment inspired generations of women. >> i've often said, it's wonderful to be the first to do something. but i didn't want to be the last. if i didn't do a good job, it might have been the last. >> juju: o'connor served 24 years on the highest court in the land, writing more than 600 opinions, casting decisive votes on landmark cases involving affirmative action, abortion, and religion. she retired from the bench in 2006 to care for her husband, who had developed alzheimer's. in 2018, o'connor announced she, too, had been diagnosed with dementia. sandra day o'connor died friday. she was 93. that's quite a legacy. that's "nightline." watch full episodes on hulu. see you right back here monday. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.