GOP Rep. Clay Higgins Doubles Down After Wildly Racist Tweet

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) defended his deeply racist comments about Haitian people even though House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) claimed the lawmaker had prayed about the post and regretted it.

“It’s all true,” Higgins told CNN Wednesday, even though he ultimately deleted the widely condemned tweet. “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.”

“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,” he added.

Earlier Wednesday, the lawmaker had expanded on the racist lies pushed by Republican nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, posting on X (formerly Twitter) that Haitians are “eating pets” and come from the “nastiest country in the western hemisphere.”

“All these thugs better get their mind right and their ass out of our country before January 20th,” he wrote in the post.

The chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), is pushing for the House to censure Higgins over the post. Several Republicans also suggested the post should be taken down.

“Look, he was approached on the floor by colleagues who said that was offensive,” Johnson told reporters. “He said he went to the back, and he prayed about it and he regretted it, and he pulled the post down.”

“I’m sure he probably regrets some of the language he used. But you know, we move forward. We believe in redemption around here,” he added.

Higgins has a history of making inflammatory statements. This latest instance attracted swift and furious backlash.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said it was “vile, racist and beneath the dignity of the United States House of Representatives.”

“Clay Higgins is an election-denying, conspiracy-peddling racial arsonist who is a disgrace to the People’s House,” Jeffries’ statement said.

Olivia Troye, who was an aide to Mike Pence when he was vice president, noted on X that Higgins serves on the House Homeland Security Committee, adding, “This is a clear betrayal of his oath to protect Americans & a warning of what’s to come under a Trump presidency.”