Mitt Romney Rips Rep George Santos, Labels Him 'An Embarrassment'

Utah Sen. Mitt Romney lambasted disgraced Rep. George Santos of New York on Tuesday, telling the troubled representative he did not belong in the House and labeling him "an embarrassment" to reporters.

The two crossed paths in the House chamber while attending Tuesday's State of the Union address. Santos managed to secure a prime seat in the chamber, making himself available to greet lawmakers as they filed into their seats.

In a video of the exchange, Romney appears to tell Santos "you don't belong here" and that he ought to be embarrassed.

Attentive viewers attempted to transcribe the interaction between the two lawmakers before both Romney and Santos spoke about the incident to the press.

Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, confirmed to reporters that he told the New York congressman he didn't belong.

"Trying to shake hands with every senator in the United States — given the fact that he's under 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," Romney said.

"I don't think he ought to be in Congress and he certainly shouldn't be in the aisle trying to shake the hand of the president of the states and dignitaries coming in. It's an embarrassment," the senator continued, adding: "If he had any shame at all, he wouldn't be there."

Santos posted on Twitter after the speech: "Hey @MittRomney just a reminder that you will NEVER be PRESIDENT!"

In November, Santos, 34, flipped a Democratic seat in a redrawn district, helping Republicans seize a narrow majority in the House. However, even before taking office last month, Santos was under fire for a pattern of telling lies about his past, many of which Santos himself admitted weren't true.

Santos faces multiple investigations at the federal, state, and local levels into his biography and campaign finances. He has been caught lying about the schools he attended, his employment history, and his family background.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Santos was the subject of complaints to the House Ethics Committee but wasn't under formal investigation by the committee, which hasn't yet convened under the new Congress.

The freshman congressman recently recused himself from his committee assignments amid the investigations, saying at the time: "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 later added that he believed he would be cleared of any wrongdoing, telling reporters, "I have nothing to hide."