Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi has accused US President Donald Trump of “racist attacks” in his tweets about an African-American lawmaker.
Mr Trump attacked Democratic Rep Elijah Cummings and his Maryland district on Twitter.
The president described Mr Cummings’ majority-black district in Baltimore as a “rodent-infested mess”.
Mr Cummings was a “bully”, Mr Trump wrote, for criticising the treatment of migrants at the US-Mexico border.
As chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Mr Cummings has instigated a series of investigations into the Trump administration’s policies, including its handling of migrants at detention centres.
Ms Pelosi led Democratic legislators in defending Mr Cummings and condemning Trump’s tweets.
The tweets, Ms Pelosi wrote, were “racist attacks” on Mr Cummings, whose district’s population is more than 50% black according to US census data.
A prolific critic of Mr Trump, Mr Cummings responded in kind, tweeting: “It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents.”
Baltimore’s mayor, Bernard “Jack” Young, called Mr Trump “a disappointment to the people” of his city, and to “our country, and to the world”.
“It’s completely unacceptable for the political leader of our country to denigrate a vibrant American City like Baltimore, and to viciously attack US Representative Elijah Cummings a patriot and a hero,” Mr Young tweeted.
Other Democrats, including presidential candidates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, have derided Mr Trump’s tweets.
The response from Republican Party representatives has been muted so far.
The episode has echoes of the racially-charged rhetoric Mr Trump used in tweets lambasting four Democratic congresswomen of colour earlier this month.
Mr Trump suggested the congresswomen – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley, and Ilhan Omar, all of whom are US citizens – should “go back” to the “crime infested” places they came from.
What sparked Mr Trump’s tweets?
Last week, Mr Cummings lashed out at acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan and conditions at migrant detention centres at a congressional hearing.
In a heated exchange with Mr McAleenan, Mr Cummings demanded “improvement” at border facilities.
BBC
