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Tense exchange between Rep. Santos, Sen. Romney
Republican congressman George Santos' presence at the center aisle for Tuesday night's State of the Union address was met with a stern rebuke from a fellow Republican, Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah.
WASHINGTON - Republican Rep. George Santos positioned himself in a prime location for President Joe Biden's State of the Union address, an uncomfortably prominent place for the embattled new lawmaker who faces multiple investigations and has acknowledged embellishing and even lying about his life story.
MORE: George Santos accused of sexual harassment
Santos' presence at the center aisle to see and be seen with the arrivals was met with a stern rebuke from a fellow Republican, Sen. Mitt Romney.
"You don't belong here," the Utah Republican scolded Santos as he entered the House chamber and spotted the New York Republican on the aisle.
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President Biden delivers State of the Union
President Joe Biden exhorted Republicans over and over again Tuesday night to work with him to "finish the job" of rebuilding the economy and uniting the nation as he delivered a State of the Union address meant to reassure a country beset by pessimism and fraught political divisions.
Words were exchanged, it was reported, though Romney said later he did not hear it all.
"He shouldn’t be in Congress, and they are going to go through the process and hopefully get him out," Romney told reporters afterward, his office confirmed. "But he shouldn’t be there, and if he had any shame at all he wouldn’t be there."
Rep. George Santos attends President Joe Biden's State of the Union address to Congress on Feb. 7, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The exchange was an unusual lashing by the more reserved Romney, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2012, but shows the discomfort Santos is bringing among traditional conservatives critical of the rightward drift of more extremist elements of the GOP.
Santos retorted with a tweet: "Hey @MittRomney just a reminder that you will NEVER be PRESIDENT!"
The arrival of Santos has been a problem for the Republicans since he won a New York congressional seat, which helped to deliver the party a slim majority, once his personal story began to unravel.
Santos has acknowledged fabricating, and at times lying, about parts of his education, work experience and even his family's own religion and history.
MORE: Rep. George Santos' office vandalized
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met privately with the congressman last week amid a swirl of potential investigations on and off Capitol Hill. Santos announced he would step aside from his committee assignments ahead of an expected House Ethics Committee probe.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) claps as President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address on Feb. 7, 2023. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
McCarthy said Tuesday the situation with Santos would work its way through the House Ethics Committee. Fellow New York Republicans have called for Santos to resign from Congress. Santos faces other investigations beyond Congress.
Other Republicans heard the exchange and one Republican lawmaker who was told about it said there was widespread displeasure that Santos had situated himself in such a prominent spot. The lawmaker requested anonymity to discuss what others said about the subject.
MORE: George Santos' ex-boyfriend speaks out
The center aisle basically gave Santos the chance to seize the limelight by greeting the president and other prominent officials as they entered the House chamber and made their way down the aisle.
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Rep. Santos facing House ethics probe as constituents call for resignation
Dozens of George Santos' constituents visited Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to demand that the embattled congressman resign, the same day that news broke that Santos is expected to face an investigation from the House Ethics Committee.
As senators entered the House in a line, it was then that Romney spotted Santos and delivered his message.
Romney said that given the investigations, Santos "should be sitting the back row and staying quiet, instead of parading in front of the president and people coming into the room."
But Santos, as is often the case, had his moment, becoming for a time the face of the GOP.
LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK, with the Associated Press, helped contribute to this report.