Rep. Sara Jacobs says Congress is basically like high school

“You can’t sit with us” isn’t just a quote from “Mean Girls”…it’s apparently a very real rule in Congress…and Rep. Sarah Jacobs says she must have used it IRL!

TMZ caught up with the California Democratic congresswoman in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, and she spilled the tea on Capitol Hill, which is basically a giant high school…with cliques, cool kids, and unofficial rules.

Check out the video…it takes us into the underground congressional subway and explains how the lack of assigned seating on the House floor doesn’t mean you can just set up anywhere…because bands like “Penn Corner” and “California Row” already have their unofficial locations locked down like a school cafeteria.

Yes, the rules are so strict that she says she literally had to tell a newbie on the day to get up and move.

Sara also goes into full directory mode, explaining how Congress mirrors high school in every way: orientation for new members, lottery-style office tasks like dorms, clubs to join, the whole lot. So what if high school was your peak? Congratulations…there’s a sequel on Capitol Hill!