Staff Reports
Mitt Romney, who is from Utah, got into a tense exchange with New York Congressman George Santos as he entered the House chamber during the State of Union Address. According to reports, the former governor told the freshman lawmaker that he didn’t belong there.
The House Ethics Committee is investigating Santos for multiple violations of campaign finance and ethics rules. He is also under investigation by the FBI for an alleged scheme involving a military veteran's dog.
In a video that was shared on Twitter, Romney can be heard telling Santos that he would be embarrassed if he shook hands with Biden and other senators. A witness then claims that Romney also told a New York representative that he didn't belong in the chamber. Romney later confirmed to reporters that he made the statement.
MITT on Santos: “He shouldn't be in Congress. And they're gonna go through the process and hopefully get him out. But he shouldn't be there and if he had any shame at all, he wouldn't be there.” pic.twitter.com/9cAQ2dsO1V
— Alan He (@alanhe) February 8, 2023
"According to Romney, he did not expect the lawmaker to be shaking the hands of the president and other officials while he was in the chamber. He said that instead of parading around, he should have sat in the back row."
Romney maintained that even though Santos had confessed to some of his fabrications, such as the claim that he earned a degree from a university that he never attended, his actions go beyond that.
"Romney noted that the House Ethics Committee is currently going through the process to get rid of Santos. If he had any shame, he wouldn't be in Congress."
Although Romney insisted that he didn't hear what the lawmaker said to him, Santos shared the exchange with Kadia Goba, a journalist from the social media platform Semafor.
Rep. George Santos describes, to me, his exchange with Sen. Mitt Romney during the State of the Union tonight:
Mitt: You don’t belong here.
Santos: Go tell that to the 142K that voted for me.
Mitt: You’re an ass.
Santos: You’re a much bigger asshole.
— Kadia Goba (@kadiagoba) February 8, 2023
Despite calls for Santos to resign, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he would not take action against the Republican until the Ethics Committee had finished its investigation. He noted that he was not allowing the lawmaker to be on any committees due to the allegations against him.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Daily Caller.
