WASHINGTON (CNN) — House Democrats immediately tried to reprimand GOP Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana from the floor of the chamber on Wednesday over a since deleted social media post calling Haitian migrants “thugs” and “slapstick gangsters” who needed to get “their a** out of our country.”

The chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada, called on the House Committee on Ethics to investigate what Higgins posted on X and pushed for the House to censure Higgins over his comments, a significant rebuke of a member of Congress. Higgins told CNN he did not regret his comments.

But GOP Rep. Jay Obernolte of California, who was overseeing the floor for Republicans at the time, told Horsford the matter could not be pursued immediately given the House had finished voting for the month.

Prior to his public comments, Horsford confronted Higgins on the floor, and, according to sources who witnessed the interaction, the pair had a heated exchange.

Despite the backlash and ultimate decision to take down the post after he said he prayed on it, Higgins told CNN he stood by his demeaning comments.

“It’s all true,” Higgins said. “I can put up another controversial post tomorrow if you want me to. I mean, we do have freedom of speech. I’ll say what I want.”

Digging in, Higgins continued “It’s not a big deal to me. It’s like something stuck to the bottom of my boot. Just scrape it off and move on with my life.”

Higgins is the latest Republican to repeat false claims about Haitian immigrants eating the pets of residents in Springfield, Ohio, led by former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance. The Haitian immigrants Higgins was referring to are largely in the United States legally as part of a parole program that allows citizens and lawful residents to apply to have their family members from Haiti come to the United States.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN that Republicans should consider removing Higgins from the bipartisan task force investigating the assassination attempts against Trump in light of his comments about Haitian migrants.

“The statement by Congressmember Clay Higgins was disgusting and dangerous,” Jeffries said. “It’s questionable as to why someone so irresponsible like Clay Higgins could be put on a serious task force that is investigating the work of the Secret Service.”

“Perhaps that’s something that House Republican leadership should re-evaluate,” Jeffries added.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson tried to claim that Higgins did regret his post.

“Look, he was approached on the floor by colleagues who said that was offensive. He went to the back – I just talked to him about it – he said he went to the back, and he prayed about it and he regretted it, and he pulled the post down,” Johnson said Wednesday. “That’s what you want the gentleman to do. I’m sure he probably regrets some of the language he used. But you know, we move forward. We believe in redemption around here.”

Horsford, who was surrounded by his colleagues on the floor as he pushed to hold Higgins responsible, said Higgins’ words “are inciting hate, they are inciting fear, and because of that it is time for this body to stand with one voice and to ensure that there is accountability.”

Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland, who also serves as a member of the CBC, told CNN that Higgins’ comments were “shocking.”

“I was really taken aback,” Ivey added.

WBRZ has reached out to Higgins, who has not yet commented.