(Bloomberg) -- Republican Representative Ted Yoho apologized for his “abrupt manner” in confronting Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the Capitol earlier this week, and didn't deny using a vulgar term referring to her as he walked away.
“It is true that we disagree on policies and visions for America,” Yoho said of the New York representative and outspoken progressive. “But that does not mean we should be disrespectful. Having been married for 45 years with two daughters, I'm very cognizant of my language.”
In remarks on the House floor, the Florida Republican sought to quell a controversy over a report about a confrontation with Ocasio-Cortez Monday concerning remarks she had made linking rising crime in New York to poverty.
Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview with Bloomberg Tuesday that Yoho “just came up on me, put his finger in my face, started calling me ‘disgusting.'”
“And when it became clear he was just not going to stop, I called him rude, but started walking away,” she said.
A reporter for the Hill newspaper who witnessed the scene wrote that as he walked away Yoho uttered the words “f------ b---ch.” Ocasio-Cortez said in the interview she didn't hear that, but did hear him “making a sound.”
Yoho didn't deny making the remark.
“The offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues, and if they were construed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding,” he said Wednesday. “As my colleagues know, I'm passionate about those affected by poverty.”
Read more: Ocasio-Cortez Wants Apology After Confrontation on Capitol Steps
Ocasio-Cortez had previously called for an apology from Yoho on the House floor, saying it wasn't so much a personal issue as one about broader respect. “It's a question of whether I'd want any other person in this body to be treated that way.”
On Wednesday, the congresswoman tweeted that Yoho's remarks didn't amount to a true apology and that he failed to accept responsibility.
House leaders in both parties had admonished Yoho. A spokesman for House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, Mark Bednar, said that McCarthy views Yoho's apology as “appropriate” and that it's “time to move forward.”
Despite Ocasio-Cortez's characterization, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Wednesday that Yoho's “apology was appropriate. I hope that Mr. Yoho feels that apology sincerely.”
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