Dem Congressman Apologizes for Using Racial Slur in Hearing: ‘I Misspoke’

A Democratic congressman running for Senate apologized Thursday after he uttered a racial slur during a House Budget Committee hearing, explaining that he’d intended to use a different word when he “misspoke.”

Rep. David Trone of Maryland was discussing tax policy with Shalanda Young—the first Black woman to serve as the director of the Office of Budget and Management—when he inexplicably used an offensive term for Black people. “So this Republican j-----o that, you know, it’s the tax rate that’s stopping business investment, it’s just completely faulty by people who’ve never run a business,” Trone said.

Trone later apologized for using the word when contacted by the media. “Today while attempting to use the word ‘bugaboo’ in a hearing, I misspoke and mistakenly used a phrase that is offensive,” he told The Washington Post in a statement. “Upon learning the meaning of the word I was deeply disappointed to have accidentally used it, and I apologize.”

He later released a longer statement saying the word has a “long dark terrible history.”

“It should never be used any time, anywhere, in any conversation,” Trone said. “I recognize that as a white man, I have privilege. And as an elected official, I have a responsibility for the words I use—especially in the heat of the moment. Regardless of what I meant to say, I shouldn’t have used that language.”

Trone is running for the Maryland’s Senate seat currently occupied by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin.

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