On Tuesday, Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty took to Twitter to report a heated interaction with a Republican colleague in the Capitol subway system. When she asked Kentucky Rep. Hal Rogers, an 84-year-old backbencher first elected to office in 1980, to put on a mask, Beatty asserts that he “poked my back” as he demanded she board the train. When Rep. Beatty advised him not to touch her, “he responded, ‘kiss my ass.’”

In video that later surfaced, showing the tail end of the encounter on the train (where masks are not required, unlike the House floor), Beatty can be heard telling Rogers, “You picked the wrong woman today.”

And so he did. Stunningly (for a Republican), Rogers apologized within hours of Beatty’s tweets. But not before members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), which Beatty chairs, held an impromptu press conference on the steps of the Capitol, to call out Rogers—once named a top 10 “Worst Congressman” by Rolling Stone—for his mistreatment of his colleague.

First, Rep. Beatty’s tweets, sent just before 3 PM Eastern on Tuesday.

Within two hours, CBC members were mobilized and speaking out. 

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York implored Rogers to do the right thing as soon as possible. “He needs to apologize, man up, apologize immediately, before this escalates to a place he doesn’t want this to go.” Jeffries went on: “Who does Hal Rogers think he is? How dare he put his hands on anyone, man, woman, or child? How dare he assault Joyce Beatty? How dare he jab her aggressively in the back? How dare he verbally attack her? How dare he say ‘kiss my ass?’ Who do you think you are?”

Florida Rep. Val Demings, who is running to relieve Marco Rubio of his duties as a senator, called out the Kentucky Republican—who even The National Review once described as “an exemplary figure of congressional disgrace.” Demings declared that she “will not give Hal Rogers a pass.” 

It was about three hours after Beatty’s tweets, and an hour or so after the CBC’s press conference, that AP reporter Farnoush Amiri shared a short video taken as the train carrying Rogers and Beatty reached its destination.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also called out Rogers, telling CNN’s Manu Raju that “any apology has to be as public as the offense.” Sure enough, about three and a half hours after Rep. Beatty reported the altercation on Twitter, Rogers tweeted an apology of sorts.

Note that Rogers apologizes solely for his words—not for having put his hands on Beatty, or his refusal to mask up. Unsurprisingly, the “nonpology” tweet hasn’t been well-received on the platform. Rogers is getting “ratioed,” meaning he’s facing a far greater negative response than positive one. For those who might not use Twitter or understand the concept of being ratioed, simply look at the number next to the heart in Rogers’ tweet above—as of this writing, it’s a mere 778. Now look at the “replies” figure—as of this writing, it’s over 3,800. 

Despite the rejection of his apology by Twitter users, Rep. Beatty announced late Tuesday night that she’d accepted his apology and is “moving on” from the incident.

In an interview on Wednesday morning with John Berman on CNN’s New Day, Beatty clarified that “Rogers’ original apology on the House floor was insufficient because ‘he mumbled some words,’ which led her to demand a public apology.” 

As POLITICO notes: 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) then spoke with House Republican leadership about the incident, Beatty told CNN, “and they said he would come over and apologize.” According to Beatty, Rogers later approached her on the House floor but was not wearing a mask.

“As he reached out to touch my arm, I told him, ‘Don’t touch me.’ And I moved back, because he didn’t have a mask on,” Beatty told CNN. “And so with that, he mumbled some words. And I told leadership it wasn’t acceptable. I wanted a public apology.”

When asked if she thought race or gender played a role in Rogers’ behavior, Beatty challenged viewers to consider what might have happened if the demographics had been reversed.

Had there not been such a social media backlash—which resulted in mainstream media coverage from The Washington Post, CNN, and others—it’s doubtful that Rogers would have even issued the weak statement he did make.

Seems that Rep. Beatty was right: Rogers picked the wrong woman.