Retired astronaut Scott Kelly—twin brother of former astronaut and Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly—mocked New York Republican Representative George Santos after Republicans announced he was recommended to sit on the House Small Business Committee and House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
Santos—who admitted to “embellishing” his résumé after The New York Times exposed multiple lies he told—has no experience that qualifies him to sit on either committee.
With this in mind, Kelly, who is a veteran of four space flights and commanded the International Space Station (ISS) on three different occasions, couldn't resist trolling Santos for both lacking experience and inflating his résumé.
Kelly "congratulated" Santos when he wrote:
"Awesome to have former NASA astronaut and moon walker, Representative George Santos on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. To infinity and beyond!"
You can see Kelly's tweet below.
The recommendation Santos sit on both committees came from the House GOP Steering Committee, which is composed of party leaders, selected committee leaders, class leaders and regional representatives.
While the Steering Committee's recommendation will have to be approved by the full House Republican Conference, the conference typically approves the Steering Committee's recommendations.
Even so, many appreciated Kelly's trolling for highlighting Santos' lies as well as general Republican incompetence.
Calls for Santos to step down intensified after The New York Times published an article detailing how Santos gave Long Island, New York Republican officials a bogus résumé when he first expressed interest in running for a seat in the House of Representatives.
Santos lied about everything from his education to his work history. Had Nassau County Republicans "dug into any of the claims," The Times noted, "they would probably have found that much of Mr. Santos’ account was baldly fabricated."
Subsequent New York Times investigations unearthed possible campaign finance violations related to suspicious expenditures listed on his campaign disclosures. Republicans largely denounced him and Santos told New York GOP officials he does not plan to run for reelection in 2024.
Santos is the subject of criminal investigations in both the United States and Brazil, where authorities confirmed they will revive a fraud case against him regarding the theft of a checkbook he used to purchase $700 of items in a clothing store in 2008.
