Bread for the World, the Christian advocacy group led by Eugene Cho, asked Rep. Ted Yoho to resign from its Board of Directors after he reportedly called Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez a f****** b****. The group said they made the decision to ask for Yoho’s resignation out of a desire to affirm “our commitment to coming alongside women and people of color, nationally and globally, as they continue to lead us to a more racially inclusive and equitable world.”
Yoho denied using the slur, which was overheard by a reporter for the Hill, and took the House floor to apologize if his conversation with Ocasio-Cortez was “construed” that way, though he said, “I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family and my country.” On Wednesday, Bread for the World said part of their “concern” about Yoho was not just the reported statement but also what “we and others perceive to be his non-apology.”
Last week, calls for Bread for the World to address Yoho’s behavior came from people like authors Gregory Thornbury and David Dark.
On Monday, a Hill reporter overheard Yoho telling Ocasio-Cortez that she was “out of your freaking mind” over statements she gave connecting poverty to ballooning crime rates. After Ocasio-Cortez told Yoho he was being “rude,” he walked away and said the slur, according to the reporter. Ocasio-Cortez gave a speech on the House floor, saying Yoho’s behavior gave other men implicit permission to use sexist language against women. “I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter,” she said. “They did not raise me to accept abuse from men.”
Rep @AOC: "I do not need Rep. Yoho to apologize to me. Clearly he does not want to. Clearly when given the opportunity he will not & I will not stay up late at night waiting for an apology from a man who has no remorse over calling women & using abusive language towards women." pic.twitter.com/XKymFh3Oyf
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 23, 2020
“During this critical time in our nation in which millions depend on U.S. government leadership and improved public policies that center on those most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, it is our hope and prayer that government leaders will find the moral courage and political will to foster healing and civil dialogue that leads to real structural change in our country and globally,” the group’s statement concluded.
