Rep. Ted Yoho on his attack on Ocasio-Cortez: 'I cannot apologize for my passion'

Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) took to the House floor on Wednesday to give a non-apology for angrily confronting New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Yoho’s non-apology came one day after the Hill newspaper reported that he called Ocasio-Cortez “disgusting” and a “fucking bitch” because of her comments about how unemployment and poverty may be causing an uptick in petty crime.

Yoho said he wanted to “address the strife” he “injected into the already contentious Congress,” saying he wanted to apologize for the “abrupt manner of the conversation” he had with Ocasio-Cortez.

But he went on to claim that he never used the “offensive name-calling words” and apologized for others’ “misunderstanding” his words.

After talking about his own struggles with poverty, he went on to say, “I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family, and my country.”

Ocasio-Cortez said in a tweet that Yoho was “refusing responsibility” for his actions.

“I will not teach my nieces and young people watching that this an apology, and what they should learn to accept,” she tweeted.

After news of Yoho’s comments toward her went viral on Tuesday,  the congresswoman tweeted: “I never spoke to Rep. Yoho before he decided to accost me on the steps of the nation’s Capitol yesterday. Believe it or not, I usually get along fine w/ my GOP colleagues. We know how to check our legislative sparring at the committee door. But hey, ‘b*tches’ get stuff done.”

A group of Democratic women lawmakers had called on Yoho to apologize to Ocasio-Cortez for what they called behavior “not befitting a member of Congress.”

Updated with a response from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.