Washington
CNN
—

House Democrats on Wednesday immediately sought to rebuke Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana from the floor for calling Haitian migrants “thugs” and “slapstick gangsters” who need to “get their asses out of our country” in a now-deleted social media post.

The chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada, called on the House Ethics Committee to investigate Higgins' posts on X and urged that the House censure Higgins for his comments – a clear rebuke for a member of Congress. Higgins told CNN he does not regret his comments.

But Republican Rep. Jay Obernolte of California, who was leading the Republican vote at the time, told Horsford that the matter could not be pursued immediately because votes in the House had already been completed for the month.

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

Horsford said he told Higgins: “If you refuse, I will raise the matter. We will bring a resolution against you.”

Despite the backlash and the decision to delete the post after he said he prayed for it, Higgins told CNN he stands by his degrading comments.

“It's all true,” Higgins said. “I can publish another controversial post tomorrow if you want. I mean, we have freedom of speech. I say what I want.”

Higgins added: “For me, it's no big deal. It's like there's something stuck to the bottom of my boot. I just scrape it off and get on with my life.”

Horsford said on AC360 that he would “continue” his efforts to reprimand Higgins for the post, calling the post “divisive, racially charged and hateful rhetoric.”

“It's not about the next election. It's about the American people feeling like they're being 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 Springfield, Ohio, residents, led by former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance. The Haitian immigrants Higgins referred to are mostly in the United States legally under a parole program that allows citizens and legal residents to apply to have their family members immigrate to the United States from Haiti.

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.

“Congressman Clay Higgins' testimony was repulsive and dangerous,” Jeffries said. “It is questionable why someone as irresponsible as Clay Higgins would be appointed to a serious task force investigating the work of the Secret Service.”

“Maybe this is something the Republican leadership in the House should reconsider,” Jeffries added.

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

“I was really stunned,” Ivey added.

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

“Look, he was approached in the room by colleagues who said that was offensive. He went to the back – I just spoke to him about it – he said he went to the back and prayed about it and regretted it and he tore the post down,” Johnson said Wednesday. “That's what you'd expect from the gentleman. I'm sure he probably regrets some of the words he used. But you know, we move on. We believe in redemption here.”

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN's Jack Forrest contributed to this report.