In a tense exchange before Tuesday’s State of the Union address, Sen. Mitt Romney told defiant Rep. George Santos that he “doesn’t belong” in the House chamber.
Romney scolded the freshman lawmaker for taking a prime and highly visible, center-aisle seat in the chamber as members of Congress piled in for President Biden’s speech.
“You don’t belong here,” the Utah Republican told Santos, who has admitted to lying about parts of his past and is facing multiple investigations into his campaign finances.
The pair apparently exchanged words, though Romney later said he didn’t hear it all.
“It shouldn’t be in Congress, and they’re going to go through the process and hopefully get it out,” Romney told New York correspondent reporters after the address. “But he shouldn’t be there, and he wouldn’t be there if he had the slightest bit of shame.”
Santos, also a Republican, took to Twitter to fire back at Romney.
“Hey @MittRomney just a reminder that you will never be president!” He tweeted on the 2021 presidential candidate.
Several other lawmakers took issue with Santos’ choice of seat, said one lawmaker who requested anonymity to speak freely about the widespread resentment.
Santos, 34, stood in a spot along the aisle where Biden and other top officials will walk down after entering the House chamber.
“I didn’t expect him to be standing there, trying to shake hands with every senator and the president of the United States,” Romney later told reporters.
Given the investigation, Romney said, Santos “should sit in the back row and be quiet, instead of parading in front of the president and the people in the room.”
Santos is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee after he admitted to fabricating information about his background, education, religion and charity work.
Federal, state and county investigators are also looking into whether he violated campaign finance laws.
Despite calls for his resignation, Santos has vowed to remain in office until the next election in 2024.
With post wires
Read full article here