Ocasio-Cortez later said the apology was inadequate, noting that Yoho was deflecting the blame and refused to apologize for what he said.
“I will not teach my nieces and youth that they see this as an apology, and what they should learn to accept. Yoho is rejecting responsibility,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter.
When asked if Yoho had personally apologized, a spokesman for the Florida Republican said, “I don’t think they spoke.” Yoho’s brief speech on the floor did not specifically mention Ocasio-Cortez by name, calling her only “my colleague from New York.”
Yoho called Ocasio-Cortez “Disgusting” when he passed her on the steps of the Capitol, according to a journalist for The Hill newspaper, who witnessed the exchange. Yoho then said, “You are out of your mind.”
Ocasio-Cortez told Yoho that he was being “rude” and then kept walking. The journalist heard Yoho saying: “F — ing b —-“. His office denied Tuesday that he made those specific comments and said he was saying the word “bulls —“.
Speaking on the Chamber floor, Yoho again denied using profanity to refer to Ocasio-Cortez.
“The words of offensive insults that the press attributed to me were never spoken to my colleagues, and if they were interpreted that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding,” Yoho said.
The room’s comments come after several Democrats, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, asked Yoho to apologize for his conduct towards another member.
Yoho also had a private meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday.
Shortly after Yoho spoke on the floor, Hoyer turned to the camera to thank the Florida Republican for his apologies.
“I hope Mr. Yoho sincerely feels that apology. And I hope we all take a lesson, think before you speak so harshly to us, ”Hoyer said.
The Florida Republican also used the speech to defend his “passion” for poverty, saying his family had also been in financial trouble and sometimes needed federal food assistance. He said that people “should not be encouraged to break the law.”
“I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family and my country,” he said.
