Rep. Sorry for 'Distraction' Caused by Trump Vulgarity

Rep. Rashida Tlaib is sorry—not for referring to President Trump as a "motherf--ker," nor for calling for his impeachment, but for causing a "distraction" when there were more pressing issues to focus on, especially the government shutdown. The newly sworn-in Michigan Democrat said Tuesday that she would never apologize for being "passionate and upset," but the furor that followed her remarks was a "teachable moment," USA Today reports. "I understand that I am a member of Congress, and I don't want anything that I do or say to distract us," she said. "And that's the only thing that I apologize for—that it was a distraction."

Tlaib, whose remarks were strongly condemned by Trump and other Republicans, said her sentiments were widely shared. "I am not the only one that is this angry and this upset," she told CNN on Tuesday. "And as a person—again a woman of color—as a person that is newly elected here, the first thing I have to vote on, and I did, was to get the government back up and running." She said she had received plenty of support from her constituents. "People like us never run for office and when we do, this is who we are," she said. (Some Democrats were reportedly "fuming" after her remarks last week.)