Cameras catch Santos interactions before Biden’s State of the Union address

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is getting some attention during his first State of the Union address.

Cameras on Tuesday evening caught the embattled congressman, who wore a bright orange tie to the affair, mingling with lawmakers before President Biden’s speech on Tuesday, after he managed to work himself into the aisle in the chamber during the widely televised event.

Santos has sparked widespread criticism and calls to resign after it was revealed he fabricated portions of his résumé during his successful campaign to win election to the House.

One tense exchange cameras caught Santos in was with Mitt Romney, a former Republican nominee for president and now a senator from Utah. The two lawmakers exchanged words before Romney eventually walked away.

Once lawmakers exited the chamber following Biden’s speech, Romney told reporters he told Santos he shouldn’t have attended the State of the Union address, and called the New York Republican “an embarrassment.”

Romney on Santos: ‘He’s a sick puppy. He shouldn’t have been there’

“I don’t know the exact words I said. He shouldn’t have been there. Look, he’s a sick puppy. He shouldn’t have been there,” 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 United States and dignitaries coming in.”

Santos was seated in the chamber near fellow Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) and Thomas Massie (Ky.)

When Biden entered the chamber to give his speech, he bypassed Santos, who did not extend his hand to the president as a number of other lawmakers did.

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