On July 24, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), who serves as Whip of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), called on the Leadership of Congress to urge formal action be taken to condemn Congressman Ted Yoho (FL-03) for what he called Yoho’s unacceptable conduct directed at Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) while on the steps of the United States Capitol on Tuesday, as reported by The Hill.

Espaillat and CHC members have called for the censure of Rep. Yoho to allow all House members to formally vote on a resolution disapproving of Rep. Yoho’s reprehensible behavior. Yoho said he regretted and attempted to make some excuses for his remarks in a formal address to Congress on Wednesday, July 22, though he did not apologize directly to Ocasio-Cortez.

“Rep. Yoho’s sexist slur hurled against Rep. Ocasio-Cortez was not only reprehensible but represents a fraction of the abuse women continue to confront daily in the workplace,” said Espaillat. “For far too long, men have gotten away with such behavior and women have remained silent. I commend Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez for her courage to speak out and confront the reprehensible words hurled against her. Women of color report higher levels of bullying in the workplace and in public, and we should never tolerate such vile misogynistic behavior targeting women in the workplace whether entry-level employees or members of the boardroom.

He continued, “I am heartened to see our younger generation break new barriers and disrupt the deep-seated culture that long required women, and especially women of color, to remain quiet when faced with despicable treatment. It is critical that we ensure this type of behavior does not occur in Congress or any workplace. However, if it does, women everywhere should know they are not alone and will have the support of their communities and country behind them when choosing to speak up about such abuse. These incidents went unnoticed in the past, but the wall of silence has come down, and we all have a responsibility to ensure these threatening incidents no longer persist”.

On Monday, July 20, 2020, Rep. Yoho confronted Rep. Ocasio-Cortez on the steps of the east side of the Capitol and told the congresswoman she was “disgusting,” “out of your freaking mind” and proceeded to call her an offensive derogatory name as he walked away from the congresswoman. Earlier this week, Rep. Yoho issued an apology, yet Rep. Espaillat believes the House of Representatives must condemn such behavior that was directed toward a young woman of color that also happens to be a Member of Congress. Unless we immediately and firmly condemn this behavior, we will be signaling to the rest of this country that this type of behavior is acceptable at workplaces, including in Congress.

Ocasio-Cortez addressed Congress on the subject of Yoho’s remarks on July 23, as seen in a now viral Now This YouTube video.

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