A Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee official tapped last week to lead a new multimillion-dollar initiative to connect with "people of color and younger Americans" deleted thousands of old tweets after the Washington Free Beacon reached out regarding many homophobic and racially insensitive posts.

Tayhlor Coleman, a longtime staffer at the committee, was named the DCCC's first director of the cycle of engagement, a role DCCC chairwoman Rep. Cheri Bustos (D., Ill.) said would be a "tremendous challenge."

"I want to thank Tayhlor Coleman for taking on this tremendous challenge at this critical moment," Bustos said. "I can think of no one more prepared to lead this effort than her."

Coleman took to Twitter this month to express her support for the gay community, but her previous posts give a different perspective of her views.

In February 2010, for example, she tweeted out concern about "giving a lesbian" her phone number, tagging the tweet with "#homophobia."

Coleman in July 2010 said "Lmfao yesssssssssssssss!" in response to somebody saying, "I would never trust a dude born && raised in atlanta…its so homo out here."

Coleman has also regularly used the phrase "no homo," a homophobic term born in the rap community used by men to make sure what they said won't be construed as gay. She once wondered whether male athletes say "no homo" after smacking each other's butts.

Coleman also once said she was too "concerned about safety" to go to a vending machine because there may be Mexicans there, a fear that may make outreach to the Hispanic community difficult.

In 2009, Coleman said she was "working like a dark skinned slave."

Neither Coleman nor the DCCC responded to a Sunday afternoon request for comment on the tweets, but all of the above tweets, along with thousands of others, were quickly deleted after the inquiry. On Friday there were 4,524 tweets available from her account, but on Sunday afternoon there were just 1,043. This reporter was also blocked from seeing Coleman's tweets on Sunday afternoon.

The DCCC, which currently has a special LGBTQ "pride month" logo on its Twitter account, recently condemned "Trump's disgusting LGBTQ+ agenda in the strongest possible terms," and said "LGBTQ+ Americans are under attack" by Trump and Republicans, who pose a "grave threat" to equality.

Coleman last summer said former Department of Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was a white supremacist for "trying to enjoy a meal at a Mexican restaurant."

Earlier this year Coleman falsely accused Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, of being one of the parents named by prosecutors in the college admissions bribery scandal, saying if he "spent less time dog whistling about brown people voting he could've helped his kid prepare for the SATs instead of BRIBING their way into college." It was a different Greg Abbott.

The DCCC last cycle demanded Republicans denounce former Minnesota congressman Jason Lewis after comments he made a number of years ago regarding the gay community were surfaced.

"Every day that he refuses to take responsibility and that Republican leadership stands by him is a moral stain on their Party," a DCCC spokesperson said.

UPDATE 6:15 P.M.: Coleman took to Twitter late Monday to offer an apology for the "hurtful and insensitive" things she'd said in the past, and says her opinions have evolved since she made the comments.

"10 years ago, I wrote some hurtful and insensitive things and while there is no excuse, my entire life since then has been about building a more just and inclusive America," she said, before calling on everyone to "do more self-reflection to understand the impact of our words and actions on marginalized communities."

She also said "witnessing the bravery of childhood friends who came out as gay and trans" changed her.

Her full statement can be read below. This reporter and the official Free Beacon Twitter account remain blocked from viewing Coleman's account. The DCCC has still not commented, though many of its employees, including communications director Jared Smith, have already "liked" her apology.