After telling colleague to 'kiss my a--,' GOP Rep. Hal Rogers says his words were 'not acceptable'

(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

published 9 February 2022

Hours after Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) tweeted that Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) told her to "kiss my a--" after she asked him to put a mask on while they boarded a train in the Capitol subway system, he apologized, telling CNN, "My words were not acceptable."

Beatty, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, shared on Twitter Tuesday morning that the incident took place while they were heading to the House floor for votes. Following her request, Rogers "poked my back, demanding I get on the train," Beatty wrote. "When I asked him not to touch me, he responded, 'Kiss my a--.'"

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On Tuesday afternoon, CNN's Manu Raju tweeted that Rogers told him he "just apologized" to Beatty, and his "words were not acceptable." Raju later asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) if Rogers' apology was good enough, and she replied that it was up to Beatty to decide that, adding, "As I say all the time here, if somebody makes a high-profile insult, they have to do a high-profile apology."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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