George Santos says it 'wasn't very Mormon' of Mitt Romney to tell him he doesn't 'belong' in Congress
- Rep. George Santos told reporters Wednesday that Sen. Mitt Romney's comment "wasn't very Mormon of him."
- The two had a tense moment at the State of the Union, with Romney telling Santos, "You don't belong here."
Rep. George Santos told reporters Wednesday that "it wasn't very Mormon" of Sen. Mitt Romney to say he didn't "belong" in Congress at the State of the Union on Tuesday.
In the video, Santos said that it's not the first time he's "been told to shut up and go back to the back of the room," apparently referring to Romney's reported comments that Santos "should be sitting in the back row and being quiet instead of parading in front of the president."
"I think it's reprehensible that the Senator would say such a thing to me in the demeaning way he said," Santos said.
Reporters and outlets like CNN reported that Romney and Santos had a heated exchange at the State of the Union Tuesday night, with Romney telling Santos: "You don't belong here."
According to other reports, Romney told reporters Tuesday night that the ongoing issues around Santos' repeated lies and embellishments are "an embarrassment."
Santos took to Twitter Tuesday night in an apparent response to Romney, writing: "Hey @MittRomney just a reminder that you will NEVER be PRESIDENT!"
Just before entering Congress, — and after he was elected by the voters of New York's 3rd Congressional District — a slew of media reports uncovered Santos lied repeatedly about his background while on the campaign trail.
It turns out the freshman representative lied about his work history, his education, athletic history, and even his religion. Santos repeatedly told leaders he was Jewish, but later claimed he was actually "Jew-ish."
"I've made bad judgment calls, and I'm reaping the consequences of those bad judgment calls," Santos later told a prospective staffer.
He's also been accused of lying about his mother being a 9/11 victim, stealing a friend's scarf and wearing it to the Capitol riot, and taking donation money meant for a rescue dog organization.
Despite being placed on two House committees — he was set to serve on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and House Small Business Committee — Santos announced at the end of January that he'd temporarily step down from the assignments.
"With the ongoing attention surrounding both my personal and campaign financial investigations, I have submitted a request to Speaker McCarthy that I be temporarily recused from my committee assignments until I am cleared," Santos said.