AOC on the House Floor: Rep. Yoho Called Me ‘a F*cking B*tch’

OCASIO-CORTEZ: “About two days ago I was walking up the steps of the Capitol when Representative Yoho suddenly turned a corner, and he was accompanied by Representative Roger Williams, and accosted me on the steps right here in front of our nation’s Capitol. I was minding my own business, walking up the steps, and Representative Yoho put his finger in my face, he called me disgusting, he called me crazy, he called me out of my mind. And he called me dangerous. And then he took a few more steps and after I had recognized his — after I had recognized his comments as rude, he walked away and said, ‘I’m rude. You’re calling me rude.’ I took a few steps ahead and I walked inside and cast my vote. Because my constituents send me here each and every day to fight for them, and to make sure that they are able to keep a roof over their head. That they are able to feed their families. And that they are able to carry their lives with dignity. I walked back out and there were reporters in the front of the Capitol, and in front of reporters Representative Yoho called me, and I quote, a ‘f*cking b*tch. These are the words that Representative Yoho levied against a congresswoman. The congresswoman that not only represents New York’s 14th congressional district but every congresswoman and every woman in this country, because all of us have had to deal with this in some form, some way, some shape at some point in our lives. And I want to be clear that Representative Yoho’s comments were not deeply hurtful or piercing to me. Because I have worked a working class job. I have waited tables in restaurants. I have ridden the subway. I have walked the streets in New York City. And this kind of language is not new. I have encountered words uttered by Mr. Yoho and men uttering the same words as Mr. Yoho while I was being harassed in restaurants. I have tossed men out of bars that have used language like Mr. Yoho’s, and I have encountered this type of harassment riding the Subway in New York City. This is not new. And that is the problem. Mr. Yoho was not alone. He was walking shoulder to shoulder with Representative Roger Williams.”