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House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) on Thursday rebuked his Democratic colleague Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) for her "offensive" characterization of immigration negotiators as "five white guys."
"That comment is offensive. I am committed to ensuring DREAMers are protected and I will welcome everyone to the table who wants to get this done," Hoyer told Politico in a statement.
Pelosi's comments came after a reporter asked the House Minority Leader during a weekly press briefing about an immigration deal that would extend protections to recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and whether she knew who was specifically cutting the deal.
"Just stay tuned. Stay tuned," Pelosi said.
She confirmed House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) was one of the negotiators before referring to the "five white guys."
"The ‘Five White Guys' I call them … You going to open a hamburger stand next or what?" Pelosi joked, prompting the reporters to laugh.
The other four "white guys" she referenced are Hoyer, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R., Texas), Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), and White House chief of staff John Kelly.
"That could have been done months ago," Pelosi added, referring to the recent negotiations between the group. "The very idea that this week they're saying, ‘oh let's get four white guys and Gen. Kelly to come and do this–'"