Story highlights Maher used the slur in an exchange with Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska

Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, who is black, lamented a "double standard" Saturday morning

Washington (CNN) Several members of Congress condemned comedian Bill Maher Saturday in the wake of his use of a racial epithet on his HBO show.

Maher used the slur in an exchange with Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, who appeared on the program Friday night to promote his book. Sasse kept quiet following the late-night comedian's remark, which was in the context of a joke and not censored when it initially aired on HBO.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, who is black, lamented "double standards" Saturday morning on Twitter and elaborated on his comments at the Iowa "Roast and Ride."

"Too often, too many people give the liberals a break on incendiary remarks that they make and it's time to hold their feet to the fire and it's good news to see people come out now and do so. It's necessary," Scott told an audience of reporters. He declined to comment on whether Maher should be fired.

Asked to elaborate on his "double standards" remark, Scott's office said the senator "has been vocal about the racially-charged comments he himself has received from the so-called tolerant left. His tweet this morning was in reference to an extremely inappropriate and offensive term used by a liberal commentator on national television."

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