The New York Times demoted a top editor because of his controversial social media behavior.

"Jonathan Weisman met with [New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet] today and apologized for his recent serious lapses in judgment. As a consequence of his actions, he has been demoted and will no longer be overseeing the team that covers Congress or be active on social media. We don't typically discuss personnel matters but we're doing so in this instance with Jonathan's knowledge," a New York Times representative said.

An internal review began after Weisman, who was the deputy Washington editor, sent tweets that were widely viewed as racist and subject to strong backlash.

In late July, he asserted that Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were not truly from the Midwest and John Lewis and Lloyd Doggett from the Deep South because they represent metropolitan areas. He deleted the tweet after critics said he was implying that people of color representing cities did not truly represent these regions.

Weisman again waded into controversy this month when he tweeted that liberal advocacy group Justice Democrats supported an Ohio primary challenger “seeking to unseat an African-American Democrat, Joyce Beatty, who represents Columbus.” That challenger, Morgan Harper, responded by saying, “I am also black.”

Roxane Gay, who is an author and Times contributing op-ed writer, issued a scalding rebuke that said, “Any time you think you’re unqualified for a job remember that this guy, telling a black woman she isn’t black because he looked at a picture and can’t see, has one of the most prestigious jobs in America. Shoot your shot.”

Gay later shared screenshots of emails Weisman sent to her and her publisher demanding an "enormous apology."

He also emailed my assistant. WTF? pic.twitter.com/RJURk2CHvn — roxane gay (@rgay) August 8, 2019

Last week, a Times representative said Weisman "repeatedly displayed poor judgment on social media and in responding to criticism" and that the company was "closely examining what to do about it.”

Marc Tracy, a media reporter for the New York Times, said Weisman, "will be an editor in DC, but no longer overseeing Congressional correspondents, and no longer active on social media. Weisman has been contrite."

In what Tracy described as a brief interview, Weisman said, "I accept Dean’s judgment," referring to New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet. "I think he’s right to do what he’s doing. I embarrassed the newspaper, and he had to act," he added.