WASHINGTON — Utah Sen. Mitt Romney during the State of the Union address joined the growing number of Republicans who said embattled freshman Rep. George Santos, R.N.Y. , shouldn’t be in Congress.
“If he was ashamed at all, he wouldn’t be here,” Romney told reporters after the speech.
Santos admitted to embellishing parts of his personal and professional resume, but Romney said those were lies, not embellishments. Embellishing, he says, is saying you got an A instead of an A-. “Lying is saying you graduated from a college you didn’t even attend.”
Santos lied that he graduated from college and was a volleyball star, a Wall Street resume that didn’t exist, his ancestry and more. He faces the most legal scrutiny, locally and federally, for his campaign finances.
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As Romney walked into the House chamber Tuesday night, he told Santos he didn’t belong in Congress.
“I didn’t expect him to be standing there (in an aisle seat) trying to shake hands with all the senators and the president of the United States,” Romney told reporters after the state of The union. Given the investigations he’s facing, including a House ethics complaint, “he should be sitting in the back row and staying silent instead of parading past the Speaker and people entering the room.”
The senator described Santos as “a sick puppy” for his lies.
“He shouldn’t be in Congress, and they’re going to go through the process and hopefully get him out,” Romney said. “But he shouldn’t be here and if he was ashamed at all, he wouldn’t be here.”
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Candy Woodall is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at cwoodall@usatoday.com or on Twitter at @candynotcandace.
Opinion takes on Santos:
George Santos cheating scandal shows winning at all costs costs America dear
A letter from ‘George Santos’: ‘I recuse myself from the commissions. Besides, I’m Batman.’
George Santos ripped off voters. Congress has a moral duty to remove him from office.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mitt Romney scolds Santos at Biden State of the Union