On Sunday, the women of the Congressional Black Caucus came together to demand an apology from White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
In a statement, the women of the caucus called out his “reprehensible” claims that Congresswoman Frederica Wilson had tried to take credit for securing funding for an FBI field office named in honor of two fallen agents. At the time, Kelly called Wilson an “empty barrel” and did not refer to her by name.
–Rep. Frederica Wilson fires back at John Kelly, calls ’empty barrel’ comment racist–
“We, the women of the Congressional Black Caucus, proudly stand with Congresswoman Wilson and demand that General Kelly apologize to her without delay and take responsibility for his reckless and false statements,” the statement read.
“Congresswoman Wilson’s integrity and credibility should not be challenged or undermined by such blatant lies,” their statement continued. “We were appalled by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly’s statements where he called Congresswoman Wilson an ‘empty barrel’ and accused her of taking credit for securing funding for a new FBI Building in Miramar, Florida that was named after two fallen FBI agents, Benjamin Grogan and Jerry Dove.”
The statement also referenced the video published Friday by the Sun Sentinel in Florida that directly contradicted Kelly’s version of events. At least 17 congresswomen have signed their names to the statement.