WASHINGTON — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to House floor Thursday to address abusive comments directed at her by Republican Rep. Ted Yoho.
Ocasio-Cortez said the Florida congressman verbally assaulted her on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Monday.
“I walked back out and there were reporters in the front of the Capitol, and in front of the Capitol, Representative Yoho called me, and I quote, a 'f******* b****,’" said Ocasio-Cortez. “These are the words Representative Yoho levied against a congresswoman.”
The congresswoman said she was ready to chalk up the encounter to another day at the office until she saw Yoho’s apology.
"I rise to apologize for the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague from New York,” Yoho said Wednesday on the House floor. "It is true that we disagree on policies and visions for America, but that does not mean we should be disrespectful. 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. I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family and my country."
“I could not allow victims of verbal abuse and worse to see that, to see that excuse, and to see our Congress accept it as legitimate,” said Ocasio-Cortez during her speech Thursday.
Ocasio-Cortez spent about 10 minutes on the House floor picking apart Yoho’s apology, saying the incident was indicative of a pattern of powerful men mistreating women with impunity, whether they are loved ones or congressional colleagues.
“I will not stay up late at night waiting for an apology from a man who has no remorse over calling women and using abusive language towards women,” said Ocasio-Cortez.
The congresswoman’s remarks were followed by other female colleagues who shared their own stories and called for the behavior to stop.
The House Minority Leader, Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy, thought the apology was sufficient.
“I think it’s appropriate that he apologized,” said McCarthy. "I just think in a new world, in a new age, we now determine, whether we accept when someone says I’m sorry, if it’s a good enough apology for them.”
“When a decent man messes up, as we’re all bound to do, he tries his best and does apologize,” Ocasio-Cortez said. "Not to save face. Not to win a vote. He apologizes, genuinely, to repair and acknowledge the harm done.”
“My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. "My mother got to see Mr. Yoho’s disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television, and I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and they did not raise me to accept abuse from men.”
