Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., recently condemned the way some of his Republican colleagues in Congress treated former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., claiming some of them took self-righteous glee in his political destruction.
“I think he was a sacrificial lamb and I think our party and everybody else just kicked him to the curb and said, ‘Look how righteous we are,'” Burchett said of Santos near the end of a 90-minute conversation that aired last week on “The Tucker Carlson Show.”
Rep. Tim Burchett wants the government to tell the truth about UFOs, and stop insider trading in Congress. He hasn’t had much luck with either one.
(0:00) What Is the UAP Phenomenon?
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(19:36) Why Tech Companies and Defense… pic.twitter.com/4fnAVfSmcF— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) October 10, 2025
Santos, who became the sixth member of Congress and first Republican to be expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 311–114 in December 2023, was sentenced in April to 87 months — more than seven years — in federal prison after pleading guilty in August 2024 to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Santos, who was a first-term congressman whom prosecutors called a “pathological liar and fraudster,” wept as his sentence was read, according to Politico. He began his sentence in July and was reportedly placed in solitary confinement at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey, in August following an alleged death threat.
Santos is suffering from panic attacks and alleged neglect in prison, according to a handwritten letter he wrote that was published by The South Shore Press.
Burchett, an outspoken Christian who is a member of an Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) congregation in Knoxville, said he felt a moral obligation and Christian duty to be a friend to Santos despite his sins, even when many others in Congress had abandoned him and were cheering his demise.
Burchett said he grew worried that Santos might take his own life, and noted he advised him to give him a call if he was ever feeling suicidal.
“George was under a heck of a lot of pressure,” Burchett said. “I call myself a Christian, and if I sat there and watched him kill himself over something and he went to Hell, I’d have that on my soul, and I just don’t want that.”
Burchett also recounted that he agreed to be a mentor to Santos when he was in Congress because nobody else wanted the job.
Noting solitary confinement is generally reserved for the most violent criminals, Burchett claimed he has heard others in Congress express hope that Santos spends the rest of his life in jail.
“I hear people say, ‘Good, good, I hope they lock him up for the rest of his life,'” he said.
Conceding that Santos is “an epic bulls–t artist,” Carlson characterized the attitude of those in Congress taking joy in Santos’ situation as merciless and likely an attempt to distract from their own sins.
“I don’t think George Santos started the Ukraine war,” Carlson said, prompting Burchett to note, “I think, again, we’re a little big on ourselves sometimes [in Congress].”
Burchett also said insider trading is rampant in Congress among both parties, but that most are seemingly not motivated to rein in the practice, despite bipartisan legislation he introduced earlier this year that would ban members of Congress from trading stock while in office.
Burchett said he has repeatedly fallen afoul of his colleagues in Congress, which he attributed in part to his faith. In 2023, he was one of eight Republican members who successfully voted to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
Burchett claimed at the time that he decided to vote for McCarthy’s removal after McCarthy made a “condescending” remark to him regarding his Christian faith and the fact that he was praying about the vote, according to The Hill.
Much of the rest of Burchett’s conversation with Carlson focused on UFO or UAP phenomena, the true nature of which both men have suggested might be supernatural in nature and being covered up by government authorities.
During an interview with Carlson in July, Santos was unflattering to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., claiming he was one of the first members to lobby Johnson to run for speaker and promoted him among the MAGA base in Congress. He said weeks after he clinched the speakership and replaced McCarthy, Johnson called him and suggested that he resign, which Santos declined before being removed days later.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
