House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) responded to Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-UT) comments that he was disappointed the speaker had not asked Rep. George Santos (R-NY) to resign yet.
“Romney should be disappointed that [Rep. Eric] Swalwell [(D-CA)] hasn’t resigned,” McCarthy told CNN on Wednesday when asked about the senator’s comments.
Asked McCarthy about Romney saying he was disappointed that the speaker hasn’t called on Santos to resign. “Romney should be disappointed that Swalwell hasn’t resigned,” McCarthy said pic.twitter.com/Gp5U81efHD
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 8, 2023
This was in reference to Romney getting in a tense confrontation with Santos in the House chamber Tuesday night before President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address where he reportedly told the embattled congressman, “You don’t belong here.”
Sen. Mitt Romney told Rep. George Santos that he does not belong in Congress, a lawmaker close to the interaction in the House chamber tells @NBCNews. https://t.co/Y2Pkqocb2m pic.twitter.com/fFqNyRvMq7
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 8, 2023
The senator later doubled down on his comments after Biden’s address and said, “yes,” when asked if he was “disappointed” that McCarthy had not yet called on Santos to resign.
MITT on Santos: “He shouldn’t be in Congress. And they’re gonna 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.” pic.twitter.com/9cAQ2dsO1V
— Alan He (@alanhe) February 8, 2023
Romney was referring to Rep. George Santos, who represents Long Island. He is facing numerous calls to step down from office in addition to facing multiple investigations by prosecutors into his personal and campaign finances and lies — which he admitted to — about his resume and family background.
However, McCarthy’s comments about Swalwell were more than likely referring to the California Democrat’s ties to a Chinese spy named Fang Fang, which Breitbart News exclusively reported in July 2021.
McCarthy has made his views clear in the past about Swalwell by saying the Democrat “cannot get a security clearance in the private sector, [so] there is no reason why he should be given one” in Congress.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
