Jayapal Insulted on House Floor

Remember when Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and John McCain (R-AZ) tried to shut down Senator Kamala Harris over the summer? Well, this bad behavior happened again -- this time to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). Late last night during a debate on the House floor, Congressman Don Young (R-AK) told Jayapal that she “doesn’t know a damn thing what she’s talking about.” Young didn’t stop there. “What you said was really nonsense. It was written by an interest group, not yourself. Maybe your staff is affiliated with the Humane Society or some other group. And I’m disappointed.” And because that still wasn’t enough, he referred to the 51-year-old lawmaker as a “young lady.” At that point, Jayapal had heard enough. “The gentleman has already impugned my motives by saying that I don’t ‘know a damn thing’ about what I’m talking about and he’s now called me ‘young lady,’” Jayapal said, before calling for Young to withdraw his remarks. Proceedings were halted as the situation ironed itself out. When things resumed, Young asked to withdraw his remarks and apologized to Jayapal. “To the lady, I do apologize. I get very defensive about my state,” Young said. “I recognize it was out of order, so I hope you accept my apology.” Jayapal graciously accepted. Take all the seats, Mr. Young. View the video of the original exchange.