Florida Republican Rep. Ted Yoho apologized for the “abrupt manner” of an exchange he had with New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who appeared underwhelmed by the act of contrition following reports Yoho used profane language during an altercation on the Capitol steps on Monday,

Yoho’s comments, overheard by a veteran Hill reporter for The Hill, came after the GOP congressman reportedly said that Ocasio-Cortez was “disgusting” for her stance on policing and crime.

“You are out of your freaking mind,” Yoho reportedly told Ocasio-Cortez on the House steps for suggesting during a town hall last month that poverty and unemployment are leading to a spike in crime in New York City amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Ocasio-Cortez responded to the charge by telling Yoho he was being “rude.”

After parting ways, Yoho was overheard by the reporter allegedly referring to Ocasio-Cortez as a “f—— bitch.”

After meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday, Yoho took to the House floor Wednesday morning to offer his take on the matter.

“I rise today to apologize for the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague from New York. It is true that we disagree on policies and visions for America but that does not mean we should be disrespectful,” Yoho said.

He then denied that he used the profanity toward Ocasio-Cortez, blaming the reporter who overheard his comments for a “misunderstanding.”

“Having been married for 45 years, with two daughters, I’m very cognizant of my language,” Yoho said. “The offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues and if they were construed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding.”

A short time later, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that Yoho is “refusing responsibility,” emphasizing that he did not even use her name during his floor speech.

“This is not an apology,” she added.

During his floor remarks, Yoho attempted to explain that his personal experience with poverty led him to confront Ocasio-Cortez.

“As my colleagues know, I’m passionate about those affected by poverty. My wife Carolyn and I started out together at the age of 19 with nothing. We did odd jobs, and we were on food stamps,” Yoho said, taking a moment to regain his composure. “I know the face of poverty. And for a time it was mine. That is why I know people in this country can still with all its faults rise up and succeed and not be encouraged to break the law.”

“I will commit to each of you that I will conduct myself from a place of passion and understanding that policy and political disagreement be vigorously debated with the knowledge that we approach the problems facing our nation with the betterment with the country in our mind and the people we serve,” he continued. “I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family and my country.”

The irony of Yoho’s personal story of poverty was not lost on Ocasio-Cortez.

Yoho’s spokesman, Brian Kaveney, also denied that the retiring congressman called Ocasio-Cortez the profane term and told ABC News Tuesday that “there is no pre-existing ‘beef’ between the two members.”

“He did not call Rep. Ocasio-Cortez what has been reported in the Hill or any name for that matter. It sounds better for the Hill newspaper and gets more media attention to say he called her a name – which he did not do. It is unfortunate that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is using this exchange to gain personal attention,” Kaveney contended. “Instead, he made a brief comment to himself as he walked away summarizing what he believes her polices to be: bullsh–.”

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters Tuesday that he had a meeting scheduled with Yoho later in the afternoon to discuss what happened during his altercation with Ocasio-Cortez.

“We think everybody should show respect to one another, and not knowing what took place, I’ll have a discussion with him to see what happened,” McCarthy said.

The inflammatory exchange followed comments Ocasio-Cortez made earlier last month during a virtual town hall.

“Crime is a problem of a diseased society, which neglects its marginalized people,” Ocasio-Cortez said in June. “Policing is not the solution to crime.”

Ocasio-Cortez, a freshman Democrat who has one of the highest profiles on Capitol Hill, has repeatedly called for cutting police budgets and shifting those funds into education, mental health and other social services.

Though she seemingly did not hear the comment directly, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted about the incident on Tuesday and said she had never spoken to Yoho before Monday.

Ocasio-Cortez, a liberal firebrand who represents parts of Queens and the Bronx, has often dealt with attacks from the far right. But she told The Hill in an interview that this type of confrontation was a first.

“That kind of confrontation hasn’t ever happened to me — ever,” she said. “I’ve never had that kind of abrupt, disgusting kind of disrespect levied at me.”

Although he was spotted alongside Yoho, Texas Republican Roger Williams denied hearing the exchange. Ocasio-Cortez asserted he is not being truthful.

The purported exchange is highly unusual at the U.S. Capitol, even as bitter partisanship is exhibited by a divided Congress. It’s been nearly 100 years since a Member of Congress was censured for using “unparlimentary language.”

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., was reprimanded by the House in 2009 after he notoriously interrupted President Barack Obama’s remarks before a Joint Session of Congress, when he shouted from the House floor, “You lie!” during the president’s prime time address at the height of the debate on the Affordable Care Act. That outburst earned Wilson an official reprimand and went down in history as a “breach of decorum” that “degraded the proceedings.”

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the second-ranked House Democrat, told reporters Tuesday during a press call that Yoho should be sanctioned for his “despicable” conduct toward another member.

“Bottom line, I think it was despicable conduct that needs to be sanctioned,” Hoyer, D-Md., said.

“Mr. Yoho owes not only the congresswoman an apology but also an apology on the floor of the House of Representatives. We need to pursue this kind of conduct and make it very clear it is unacceptable,” he said.

“It was the act of a bully, the act of a person who is the antithesis of John Lewis, who we honor every day this week,” Hoyer added.

A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not respond to a request for comment.

As enhanced unemployment benefits expire at the end of the month, Senate Republicans have found themselves in a race against the clock to find an agreeable expansion to the program as part of the next coronavirus relief package.

Most Republicans support some sort of expansion to the program, but many have argued that the program, in its current state, is a non-starter.

Under current law, passed in March as part of the first coronavirus stimulus legislation, those claiming unemployment receive a $600 weekly federal benefit on top of their regular state jobless benefit. But as Republicans look to retool the program to ensure that only pre-pandemic salaries are replaced and nothing above that, many have argued that the current benefit is far too high and is leading to a disincentive to work for some.

The special pandemic program is set to expire on July 31, though the department of labor said the final checks will be distributed this weekend.

“The (Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation) $600 can be paid for weeks ending no later than the week ending prior to Friday, July 31, 2020,” the U.S. Department of Labor said in a statement to USA Today, which first reported the news. “For all states except (New York), that is Saturday July 25th. New York’s end date is Sunday, July 26th.”

The approaching deadline comes as millions of Americans continue to file for unemployment. There were 17.8 million people were unemployed in June, and this data does not account for recent surges in coronavirus cases which have caused some states to scale back or cancel their re-opening plans.

Senate Republicans are looking to deal with the historic unemployment crisis in their next COVID-19 relief bill which GOP leader Sen. Mitch McConnell says is on track to be unveiled this week ahead of negotiations with Democrats.

The massive package will address, among other components, funding for schools, testing, liability protections, expansions to the federal small business paycheck protection program and direct payments to Americans.

But Republicans are far from united on an overall package, let alone what to do with unemployment benefits, a situation that is likely to see those in need go without a check.

When asked if it was possible to have a bill passed by the end of next week, McConnell scoffed and said, “No.”

Republicans have argued that a $600 benefit is too generous and disincentivizes working class Americans, some of whom are making more on unemployment than they did while working, from returning to their place of work — a position with which President Donald Trump agrees.

Asked about the amount of enhanced unemployment benefits, he said he would be OK with it the next round of coronavirus relief legislation from Congress.

“They’re thinking about doing 70% of the amount,” Trump said. “The amount would be the same but doing it in a little bit smaller initial amounts so that people are going to want to go back to work. As opposed to making so much money that they really don’t have to.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, has for weeks argued that while the unemployment benefit cannot simply drop off, it should also not serve as an unfair competitor to business owners who are looking to hire back employees.

“I think we’re going to have to find the compromise between those who want to cut it off completely, but we can’t go to $600 for another six months,” Grassley told ABC News Monday.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said Tuesday that he supports an expansion of the program, but argued a scale-back is going to be necessary.

“We certainly need to continue to help people with unemployment provisions,” Romney told reporters, but he said the number would be “far lower” than $600.

Two Republican aides involved in the talks have said negotiators have discussed a reduction to $400 per week, but the details of any final product remain unclear.

Some members of the Republican conference have suggested tying the unemployment benefit to each individual’s income. But that is a proposal that states have said would be logistically complicated to execute given the outdated unemployment systems many are using.

Romney said Tuesday he believes that there will have to be some sort of flat rate agreed to due to these technical challenges.

Even with the current flat-rate payments, many states have struggled to stand up a system robust enough to accommodate the bonuses.

ABC News reported in May that individuals who filed for unemployment were waiting weeks to receive their benefits.

Still, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, suggested on Monday a version of unemployment benefits that would tie the benefit to income.

“You can tie it to the individual,” Portman said. “There’s a way to do it as a percentage of the actual unemployment that they’re paying which is based on their wages.”

According to Portman, states would be able to produce payments using this method since it would rely on data they already collect from individuals filing for unemployment and formulas already employed to produce the state benefit.

Portman has also proposed a “back to work bonus” which would give Americans who return to their jobs $450 a week for several weeks to entice their return.

Democrats, however, are holding firm on their stance that $600 a week is where the benefit should remain, approving the extension in a $3 trillion House-passed coronavirus stimulus bill.

Senate Democratic leaders have introduced a proposal which would gradually scale down the amount of unemployment benefits individuals receive as the unemployment rate dips.

It’s not yet clear if that effort, led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., will gain favor with Republicans. But Wyden and other Democrats have urged Republicans to continue taking the unemployment rate seriously.

“You’ve got to be living in a country club fantasy land to believe that this economic crisis is anywhere close to ending,” Wyden said earlier this month.

Though almost all of Congress appears to believe additional benefits will be required, it’s likely the program will still lapse — at least temporarily — while the Senate continues to negotiate an agreeable path forward.