Anderson Cooper reacts to GOP defending congressman who demanded Haitians leave US

Washington (CNN) — House Democrats immediately tried to reprimand GOP Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana from the floor of the chamber on Wednesday over a since deleted social media post calling Haitian migrants “thugs” and “slapstick gangsters” who needed to get “their a** out of our country.”

The chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada, called on the House Committee on Ethics to investigate what Higgins posted on X and pushed for the House to censure Higgins over his comments, a significant rebuke of a member of Congress. Higgins told CNN he did not regret his comments.

But GOP Rep. Jay Obernolte of California, who was overseeing the floor for Republicans at the time, told Horsford the matter could not be pursued immediately given the House had finished voting for the month.

Prior to his public comments, Horsford confronted Higgins on the floor and the two men had a heated exchange, according to sources who witnessed the interaction. Horsford told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Wednesday night that he had asked Higgins to delete the post, to which Higgins replied that he would pray about it.

Horsford said he told Higgins, “If you refuse, I will take this to the floor. We will move for a resolution to censure you.”

Despite the backlash and ultimate decision to take down the post after he said he prayed on it, Higgins told CNN he stood by his demeaning comments.

“It’s all true,” Higgins said. “I can put up another controversial post tomorrow if you want me to. I mean, we do have freedom of speech. I’ll say what I want.”

Digging in, Higgins continued: “It’s not a big deal to me. It’s like something stuck to the bottom of my boot. Just scrape it off and move on with my life.”

Horsford said on “AC360” that he will “follow through” on the effort to censure Higgins over the post, which he called “divisive, racially charged, hateful rhetoric.”

“It is not about the next election. It is about everyday people in America feeling targeted. Today, it’s the Haitians. Who will it be tomorrow? Will it be you?” Horsford added.

Higgins is the latest Republican to repeat false claims about Haitian immigrants eating the pets of residents in Springfield, Ohio, led by former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance. The Haitian immigrants Higgins was referring to are largely in the United States legally as part of a parole program that allows citizens and lawful residents to apply to have their family members from Haiti come to the United States.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN that Republicans should consider removing Higgins from the bipartisan task force investigating the assassination attempts against Trump in light of his comments about Haitian migrants.

“The statement by Congressmember Clay Higgins was disgusting and dangerous,” Jeffries said. “It’s questionable as to why someone so irresponsible like Clay Higgins could be put on a serious task force that is investigating the work of the Secret Service.”

“Perhaps that’s something that House Republican leadership should re-evaluate,” Jeffries added.

Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland, who also serves as a member of the CBC, told CNN that Higgins’ comments were “shocking.”

“I was really taken aback,” Ivey added.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson tried to claim that Higgins did regret his post.

“Look, he was approached on the floor by colleagues who said that was offensive. He went to the back – I just talked to him about it – he said he went to the back, and he prayed about it and he regretted it, and he pulled the post down,” Johnson said Wednesday. “That’s what you want the gentleman to do. I’m sure he probably regrets some of the language he used. But you know, we move forward. We believe in redemption around here.”

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Jack Forrest contributed to this report.

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