Mitt Romney Took a Jab at George Santos During SOTU but NY Rep. Fired Back: 'You Will Never Be President'

Senator Mitt Romney of Utah directly criticized fellow Republican Rep. George Santos as they crossed paths in the House chamber while attending the State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

In a video of the exchange, Romney seems to tell the embattled New York lawmaker, "you don't belong here" and that he should be embarrassed, according to NPR. Romney later confirmed to reporters that he told Santos he did not belong among the attendees of the State of the Union address.

He said he did not expect the disgraced New York representative to be standing there and "shake hands with every senator and the president of the United States." Romney went on to say that Santos is under an ethics investigation and should be "sitting in the back row and staying quiet" instead of "parading."

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy recently confirmed that Santos is under an ethics probe, adding that they will take action if the committee finds something. Santos also earlier told colleagues that he would be stepping down from his assignments on the Small Business and Science Committees while investigations are ongoing.

Mitt Romney vs. George Santos at State of the Union Address

George Santos later tweeted while mentioning Mitt Romney's Twitter handle: "Just a reminder that you will NEVER be PRESIDENT."

Romney was the Republican Party's presidential nominee in 2012. Fellow New York Republicans have already called for Santos to file his resignation from Congress.

Other Republicans reportedly heard about the exchange, with one GOP lawmaker who was told about it noted that there was pervasive displeasure with Santos' presence, according to CBS News.

Santos did greet the president and other prominent officials as they entered the House chamber. But as senators entered the House, Romney spotted Santos and delivered his message.

Romney told reporters after the speech that Santos "shouldn't be in Congress." He added: "They're going to go through the process and hopefully get him out. But he shouldn't be there and if he had any shame at all, he wouldn't be there."

Romney noted that he did not hear what the NY lawmaker said back to him. But a source familiar with the exchange told CBS News that Santos called the senator an "a**hole" in return.

Romney noted that Santos admitted that he embellished his record, which means "you got an A when you got an A minus" and "you graduated from college you didn't even attend."

On Wednesday, Santos retorted and told reporters that the senator's behavior "wasn't very Mormon of him," claiming he was told to "shut up and go to the back of the room."

George Santos Investigations

Aside from fabricating his resume and allegations of scheming money off of people, George Santos is also facing a complaint from a former aide accusing him of sexual harassment. However, Santos denied the allegations.

Derek Myers said it was an unfortunate series of events, adding that the matter will hopefully be handled by the "appropriate bodies and not litigated through the news media," according to USA Today.

Myers was listed as the editor of the Scioto Valley Guardian in Ohio. He started working in Santos' D.C. office on January 24, with duties including answering phones, reading mail, corresponding, and writing to constituents.

Myers noted that Santos hit on him the day after he started working as a volunteer. He also alleged the lawmaker asked him if he had a hookup app popular in the gay community, which is Grindr.

He also accused Santos of inviting him to sit with him on a small sofa. He noted that Santos also called him "buddy" and alleged that the lawmaker placed his leg on Myers' left leg and asked him if he would like to go to a karaoke night.

Myers declined, but Santos still allegedly moved his hand down his leg into the inner thigh and proceeded to touch his groin.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: 'You Ought to Be Embarrassed': Mitt Romney Exchanges Heated Words With George Santos - From Guardian News