Top Black lawmakers are calling on Eli Crane to apologize to Joyce Beatty for referring to Black people as “colored” on the House floor.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- What happened: A day after Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) drew condemnation for referring to Black people as “colored people” during debate on the annual defense policy bill, the Congressional Black Caucus' chair said they were still waiting on a specific apology.

Details: Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) said in a brief interview that Crane’s comments were “unbecoming” of a member of Congress.

“It’s unbecoming a member of the House of Representatives to use the word ‘colored’ in the year 2023,” Horsford said earlier Friday. “He has yet to formally apologize, to publicly acknowledge just how derogatory a term that is — the history of its meaning.”

A statement from Horsford released later Friday said that the bloc wanted an apology for Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who’d been debating Crane when he made his controversial remarks.

“It may also be prudent for Rep. Crane to contact the diversity office within the House of Representatives, which has valuable resources for Members and staff who wish to learn more about the history of the word,” Horsford said in a statement.

Crane, a first term lawmaker, was formally rebuked on the House floor for his remarks and later said he deeply regretted his comments and was sorry they were hurtful.

McCarthy’s take: Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters on Friday that Crane’s comments were “unacceptable,” and he’d take Crane’s word about misspeaking.

This article was originally published by Politico on July 14, 2023.