Rep. Smith's remark came as the two parties were fighting over a Democratic bill that would fund the government through Feb. 28. | Al Drago/Getty Images Congress GOP Rep. Jason Smith apologizes for telling Democrats to 'go back to Puerto Rico'

Rep. Tony Cárdenas said Thursday night he has accepted an apology from Rep. Jason Smith, who acknowledged he yelled, “Go back to Puerto Rico!” at Democrats during a tense situation on the House floor earlier in the day but denied his remark was racially motivated.

A Smith aide said the Missouri Republican intended the comment as a shot at House Democrats over their 30-member jaunt to Puerto Rico last weekend — an event that got heavy coverage in the conservative media — rather than an attack on a specific lawmaker. But in a week that saw the House overwhelmingly condemn Iowa GOP Rep. Steve King for racist remarks, tensions remain high. And House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on the floor that Democrats believed it was a slur aimed at Cárdenas.


Cárdenas, a California Democrat of Mexican heritage, said in a statement Thursday night that he was "shocked" to hear Smith's words as he waited to speak on the floor and "often heard those kinds of comments" when he was a kid growing up outside Los Angeles.

Cárdenas said Smith called him a few hours later and "sincerely apologized," agreeing that the two should get to know each other better when Congress returns next week.

"There is a saying that I was taught by my parents, 'De todo lo malo, siempre sale algo bueno,' which in English means, 'From everything bad, something good will come of it,'" Cárdenas said in his statement. "I look forward to working with and getting to know Congressman Smith in the months ahead."

Smith's remark came as the two parties were fighting over a Democratic bill that would fund the government through Feb. 28. The bill passed on a voice vote, but Republicans claimed Democrats ignored their demands for a roll-call vote.

As the C-Span cameras were turned off with the House going out of session, a squabble broke out on the floor, with lawmakers yelling insults at one another.

"So are you shutting down government?" a Republican yelled.

“No, Trump already did that,” a Democrat batted back.

More than 50 Republican lawmakers circled House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, who stood opposite a similarly surrounded House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on the Democratic side.

The issue was ultimately resolved, after nearly an hour of informal deliberation, with Hoyer scheduling a re-vote next week. But the discord behind the scenes underscores the growing strain of the government shutdown, about to hit the four-week mark, with a bipartisan deal still out of reach.

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“We have just been through a very difficult week,” Hoyer said after conceding to the Republicans’ plea for a roll call vote. Hoyer noted Republicans stripped King of his committee assignments after a string of racist comments, and then the House voted to rebuke him 424-1. “I would hope that we could refrain from any implications which have any undertones of prejudice or racism or any kind of ism that would diminish the character or integrity of one of our fellow members.”

Hoyer said the “Puerto Rico” barb was directed toward Cárdenas.

Several Republican sources insisted the comment was directed toward Democrats who attended a reception in San Juan last weekend while the government shutdown dragged on. Conservative news outlets, Trump and some Republicans have frequently referenced that trip in recent days.

GOP lawmakers — as well as Trump — have repeatedly attacked Democrats this week for heading to the territory amid the ongoing government shutdown. That trip was organized by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ fundraising arm, Bold PAC, which is led by Cárdenas.

The bill the House will take up again next week is not expected to be a panacea for what is now the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The legislation would reopen the government through Feb. 28. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to cast aside any such legislation unless he first gets the blessing of Trump, who refuses to sign any funding measures that don’t include at least $5 billion for the border wall.

"We know that the cure that they are offering on the other side will not work," Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) said on the floor. "We have got to come to the table with a new cure, a new solution, and yes, a compromise."

Under the legislation, the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, State, Transportation and Treasury would all be funded through the end of February.

“The order of business, my friends, should be simple,” House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) said on the floor. “We open the government, pay federal employees and then negotiate on border security and immigration policy. It is long past time for my colleagues across the aisle and across the Capitol to come to their senses.”

John Bresnahan contributed to this report.