Jeffries\u2019 top Democratic lieutenants, Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark<\/a> and California Rep. Pete Aguilar, led the charge on Monday, May 11, demanding that Kiggans apologize and resign for the host\u2019s \u201cuse of brazenly racist language to attack Black leaders,\u201d as Clark put it.<\/p>\n \u201cRepublicans are taking us backwards in every single way. This racist rhetoric is absolutely disqualifying from a Member of Congress,\u201d Aguilar wrote<\/a>. \u201cRep. Kiggans must apologize then get the hell out of the House.\u201d<\/p>\n The Monday morning interview on Richmond’s Morning News with Rich Herrera<\/a> came after the Virginia Supreme Court tossed out a new, voter-approved congressional map<\/a> in the state that would have carved out more seats for Democrats amid the partisan gerrymandering wars unfolding across the nation.<\/p>\n Jeffries\u2019 political operation had poured millions into that effort to counter conservative states’ similar redistricting plans as he seeks to secure a Democratic majority this fall and become the first Black speaker of the House<\/a> in U.S. history.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Hakeem Jeffries wants to be involved, then I suggest he does what a bunch of New Yorkers are doing: leave New York, move down here to Virginia. Run for office down here,\u201d WRVA\u2019s Rich Herrera said towards the end of a 12-minute segment with Kiggans. \u201cYou can represent us. If not, get your cotton-picking hands off of Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right. Ditto. Yes, yes to that,\u201d Kiggans replied.<\/p>\n Kiggans\u2019 congressional office directed requests for comment to her reelection campaign, which did not immediately respond to PEOPLE.<\/p>\n Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., speaks at a Virginians for Fair Maps rally in Bridgewater, Va., on April 11. In a post to X<\/a> on Monday evening, Kiggans did not apologize for agreeing with the radio host’s racist remark, instead arguing that the outrage is \u201cprecisely what\u2019s wrong with Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n She said that while Herrera \u201cshould not have used that language\u201d and she doesn\u2019t condone it, \u201cit was obvious to anyone listening that I was agreeing Hakeem Jefferies [sic] should stay out of Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n Notably, in that post pushing back on the demands for her resignation, Kiggans spelled Jeffries\u2019 last name wrong.<\/p>\n Rep. Yvette Clarke, a New York Democrat and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, responded to Kiggans directly by arguing she was \u201ceither too cowardly to condemn this man\u2019s ignorance, or you agreed with it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo matter what you say now, the fact is that you did not say a thing then \u2014 and that is precisely what\u2019s wrong with Republicans!\u201d Clarke wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n House Speaker Mike Johnson<\/a>, R-La. \u2014 who also appeared on Herrera\u2019s show<\/a> on Monday in a separate segment and campaigned<\/a> against the redistricting effort alongside Kiggans \u2014 did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE.<\/p>\n House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., (second from left) and Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., listen as Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., speaks on March 6, 2024. \u201cJen Kiggans had her chance to disavow the vile, racist and dehumanizing comments from far-right talk show host Rich Herrera. Instead, she doubled down,\u201d Jeffries\u2019 spokesperson Christie Stephenson said in a statement<\/a> on Tuesday, May 12. \u201cThen, Jen Kiggans tripled down and attempted to blame partisanship in a pathetic follow-up statement.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a stunning failure of judgment and leadership for a so-called moderate Member of Congress representing a large, vibrant African American community in Virginia,\u201d Stephenson continued, adding that \u201cextremists who endorse disgusting, vile and racist language are pathetic.\u201d<\/p>\n Herrera did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his statement, the backlash, and why clips of the interview appear to have been removed from his website, the station\u2019s website, and platforms like YouTube and Apple Podcasts.<\/p>\n Elsewhere in the interview, Kiggans described Jeffries as \u201csick with power\u201d and accused him of orchestrating a \u201cblatant power grab\u201d using shady politics to \u201clie, cheat and steal because they can\u2019t beat us at the ballot box.\u201d<\/p>\n The redistricting proposed by Democrats was approved by 51.7% of Virginia voters in a ballot measure that saw more than three million votes cast. The state Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision that the process for getting the referendum on the ballot was not properly conducted, undoing the vote just weeks after it was completed.<\/p>\n Virginia Democrats are now asking the U.S. Supreme Court<\/a> to allow the state to move forward with the redrawn map.<\/p>\n Jeffries\u2019 office and other Democrats have connected Kiggans\u2019 friendly response to someone referencing a Black lawmaker\u2019s \u201ccotton-picking hands\u201d to a broader push by Republicans in the South to split up predominantly or majority Black districts following a Supreme Court ruling this month that gutted much of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.<\/p>\n \u201cJen Kiggans has no interest in our nation\u2019s progress toward a multi-racial democracy and apparently craves a return to the days of Jim Crow racial oppression in the South,\u201d Jeffries’ spokesperson said. \u201cThat\u2019s why MAGA Republicans in legislatures and courts across America have launched a full-scale assault on Black representation.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., attends a Republican leadership press conference on Sept. 18, 2024. Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kiggans\u2019 Democratic challenger, former Rep. Elaine Luria<\/a>, called Herrera\u2019s remark and Kiggans\u2019 apparent agreement a \u201cracist dog whistle\u201d and demanded the Republican apologize. Kiggans, a former state senator, defeated Luria in a 2022 House race in the coastal Virginia swing district.<\/p>\n \u201cThese comments come at a time when the Supreme Court and Republican controlled state legislatures are disenfranchising Black voters and wiping out Black representation across southern states, which Jen Kiggans applauds,\u201d Luria said<\/a>. \u201cShe should immediately and publicly apologize and denounce these racist remarks that have no place in our Commonwealth or our politics.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Rep.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6ebed55b241b86729fcbcc4e107ce2d8.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Bill Clark\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty<\/p>\n![\"House](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/37c7fb7c807e67fed89a3014cdca3b57.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Alex Wong\/Getty<\/p>\n![\"Rep.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/180b2ea25e9358df568e172f0ab45f41.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Win McNamee\/Getty<\/p>\n