ATLANTA — On Friday, a surprising apology came from Republican Rep. Doug Collins, less than 24 hours after scathing remarks accusing Democrats of being "in love with terrorists" during an appearance with Lou Dobbs on the Fox Business Network.
"Nancy Pelosi does it again, and her Democrats fall right in line. One, they are in love with terrorists, we see that," Collins said. "They mourn Soleimani more than they mourn our Gold Star families who are the ones who suffered under Soleimani. That's a problem."
Iranian General Qassim Soleimani, was killed in a U.S. airstrike last week ordered by President Donald Trump, which escalated tensions between Iran and the United States.
In the wake of the strike, many Democratic members of Congress openly questioned whether the president was moving toward waging war with Iran without consulting Congress, which would be required under the War Powers Act.
On Friday, Collins apparently walked back his comments, tweeting, "I apologize for what I said."
In a series of five tweets, Collins, who represents the 9th Congressional District, which includes portions of Atlanta's far northeastern suburbs and areas northward all the way to the North Carolina border, goes on to say that his comments were in reference to the House War Powers resolution, and that he remains committed to working with his colleagues in Congress to "keep all Americans safe."
The apology tweets came shortly after an email -- reportedly to Collins supporters from a political action committee -- was sent with the headline "I Will Not Apologize."
Collins' apology did not come before NBC Late Night host Seth Myers took some shots at the Congressman's original comments on Thursday night.
"Last night, Collins took a break from rambling incoherently to level a truly disgusting accusation at Democrats who opposed Trump's march to war with Iran," Myers said. "I mean you're accusing Democrats of siding with Democrats over Gold Star families? There's only one famous reality show [expletive deleted]-turned-President who said, quote, fell in love, and was repeatedly attacked or fought with Gold Star families. Trump attacked the parents of a fallen soldier and that's the guy you support, Doug Collins."
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to Democratic lawmakers on Friday saying the articles of impeachment against President Trump could be delivered to the Senate as early as next week.
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