‘Misguided Moment of Rage’: George Santos Apologizes For Savaging Fellow Republican’s Son

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Fabulist Rep. George Santos (R-NY) publicly apologized on Thursday night for a personal jab he took at a fellow Republican that centered on savaging his colleague’s son who has long struggled with addiction.

“Last night, the House saw its shadow. Unfortunately, this means there will be two more weeks of Santos,” jested Rep. Steve Womack (R-AK) after Santos survived a GOP-led effort to expel Santos – who is facing 23 criminal charges related to allegations of fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance violations.

Santos hit back at Womack, writing, “Your son is a felon.”

“He has been in and out of the prison system for years. He is a drug dealer, poisoning people on the streets with meth and unlawful possession of a gun,” Santos raged, adding:

Instead of being home, taking care of your son, you’re sitting pretty in the swamp. Listen, I have been respectful of my colleagues through this process but I am sick and tired of people with glass houses casting stones at me.

While many House Republicans have taken aim at Santos over his many, many lies and corruption allegations – including that one of his aides impersonated a staffer for then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to rip off a donor – Santos for some reason chose to go after Womack’s son in retaliation.

Womack has been open about his son’s struggles and, in an article Santos attached to his screed, Womack is quoted saying, “There’s not a more helpless feeling than to see your adult children struggle with addiction and its horrific consequences. This is our cross to bear.”

“We will never give up on a solution. We love him unconditionally and believe in our hearts he will redeem himself. We regret he is at the mercy of the criminal justice system and will respect the judgment,” Womack said of the case against his son.

Santos deleted his attack on James Womack, 36, and quickly apologized, writing:

I have the maturity and humility to acknowledge and accept when I’m wrong. Today I had a misguided moment of rage and lashed out against a colleagues family member after he was critical of me. I’ve always held the standard that our families are off limits and I crossed that line and for that I am embarrassed and deeply sorry for doing so. This apology is the correct thing to do and with that said @rep_stevewomack I am deeply and truly sorry for my actions. I am praying for your family during these difficult times.

James Womack pled guilty to distributing more than five grams of methamphetamine earlier this year and faces up to 40 years in prison. Rep. Womack responded to Santos’s attack and apology, saying, Our family has been through a lot with an adult son, and those subjects are always off limits in terms of the political discourse. And for somebody to raise it for some kind of political gain, is regretful. There’s enough up here to get crossways about, but let’s leave families out of it.”

“In my case, it’s a son with a drug problem. For someone else, it’s an illness. For others, it’s money. For others, it’s domestic,” Womack said to the Washington Examiner. “I mean, there’s not a family up here that doesn’t have some challenge going on in their life. And life and politics is complicated enough. We don’t need to resort to that kind of stuff. And well, he did what he did. He apologized for it. But still, those words cut pretty deep.”