Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) attempted to distance himself from a homophobic message shared on his X account — blaming a staffer for the post.As Pride Month began, the Republican member of Congress, a far-right conservative, faced backlash for writing Tuesday that “homosexuality has no place in America.”“Happy Nuclear Family Month,” the post added.The tweet has since been deleted.Hours later, Ogles stopped short of issuing an apology as he went into cleanup mode.“Earlier today while working on the farm, my phone began going crazy because of a post made by a member of my comms team,” he wrote on X. “The post was stupid, hurtful and a complete distraction from my America First focus. The employee has been reprimanded.”Ogles had faced condemnation from both sides of the aisle.Earlier today while working on the farm, my phone began going crazy because of a post made by a member of my comms team. The post was stupid, hurtful and a complete distraction from my America First focus. The employee has been reprimanded.— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) June 3, 2026Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) responded to Ogles’ “idiotic” statement with a quote post, which said: “Homosexuality exists. In America. In fact Andy, you have family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and constituents who are gay and lesbian.” Speaking to TMZ, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said that “for all of recorded history, homosexuals have been part of humanity.”“The behavior of consenting adults is their business,” Cruz continued, calling himself a “libertarian by nature.”In a post, Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) called Ogles’ post a “horrific and disgusting thing to say.”“The LGBTQI+ community makes America great, unlike bigots like you,” Thanedar said. Ogles has a history of making deeply offensive statements.Reacting to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show in February, the Tennessee congressman characterized the performance as “gay pornography” and “pure smut.”In what appeared to be a reaction to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani slamming an anti-Islam rally organized outside his home by a pardoned Jan. 6 insurrectionist, Ogles wrote on social media in March: “Muslims don’t belong in American society.”