Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, apologized Thursday for pushing a reporter inside the Capitol Building.
Young, 85, who has been in the House of Representatives since 1973 and is its longest-serving member, shoved Melanie Zanona of Politico while she was trying to interview another lawmaker outside the House chamber. She tweeted that she had an audio recording documenting the incident.
“Don Young has called me to personally apologize, which I accepted and very much appreciate. Told him we were just trying to do our jobs (which he said he understood)!” Zanona wrote on Twitter of Young’s expression of regret.
Don Young has called me to personally apologize, which I accepted and very much appreciate. Told him we were just trying to do our jobs (which he said he understood)! https://t.co/4LHu1xOVGZ
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) April 4, 2019
When asked for comment on the encounter, Zack Brown, Young’s spokesman, told the Washington Examiner: “Yes, the Congressman personally spoke with her and they had a productive conversation.”
The Alaska Republican’s apology came after Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., herself a former journalist, called on him to make amends.
“This is NOT ok. I was a reporter for nearly two decades, and, as a Member of Congress, I’ve given a lot of interviews off the floor – but I’ve never seen anything like this before. @DonYoungAK is clearly out of line and owes @MZanona an apology,” Bustos tweeted.
This is NOT ok. I was a reporter for nearly two decades, and, as a Member of Congress, I’ve given a lot of interviews off the floor – but I’ve never seen anything like this before. @DonYoungAK is clearly out of line and owes @MZanona an apology. https://t.co/6AMVH9gx3F
— Cheri Bustos (@CheriBustos) April 4, 2019
