Senator Mitt Romney had harsh words for recently elected and embattled Rep. George Santos Tuesday evening before the State of the Union, which he explained later to a gaggle of assembled reporters.
Congressional cameras caught the moment live as members of Congress filed into the House Chamber in advance of President Joe Biden’s speech. Reports later emerged of name-calling and insults shared between the two. The two chatted briefly and Romney reportedly told Santos he didn’t belong in Congress, telling him, “You’re an ass,” according to Semafor.
In December, the New York Times reported that Santos fabricated much of his life story, including where he went to school and where he had worked. He also lied about being Jewish, along with many, many, many other prevarications.
More seriously, Santos faces questions about his finances after he gave his campaign a $705,000 loan just two years after he reported no assets and a $55,000 salary on a disclosure form in 2020 and is reportedly under both state and federal investigation and has resisted calls to resign.
Reporters asked Romney about the exchange as he left the House Chamber, to which the Utah Senator did not demur, reiterating his apparent disgust with Santos. Romney said:
“I didn’t expect that he’d be standing there trying to shake hands with every senator and president of the United States. Given the fact that he’s under and ethics investigation, he should be sitting
in the back row and staying quiet instead of parading in front of the President and people coming into the room. Look, look, he said he embellished as record. Look, embellishing is you saying you got an A when you got an A-. Lying is saying you graduated from college you didn’t even attend. And he shouldn’t be in Congress and they’re going to go through the process and hopefully get him out, and — but he shouldn’t be there and, if he had any shame at all, he wouldn’t be there.”
Watch above via WuTangKids.