Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) came under fire from Republicans on Tuesday for referring to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who uses a wheelchair, as “Governor Hot Wheels.”

Crockett made the remark Saturday at a Human Rights Campaign dinner in Los Angeles as part of a broader dig at the Texas governor.

“Y’all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there. Come on now. And the only thing hot about him is that he’s a hot a– mess, honey,” Crockett said to applause from the audience.

Abbott, 67, was paralyzed at age 26 after a tree fell on him while he was on a run, damaging his spinal cord.

On Tuesday, Crockett did not directly respond to reporters’ questions about her remarks as she walked onto the House floor, saying only that her comment at Saturday’s event “speaks for itself.”

“Y’all saw the video,” she added.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which works to elect Republicans in the House, shared the video of Crockett’s remarks on social media earlier Tuesday and called on two vulnerable Texas Democrats in the House — Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez — to condemn what she said.

“Jasmine Crockett is the perfect spokesperson for today’s Democrats — out of touch and completely unhinged. When you’ve got no message and no agenda, all that’s left is hate,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement.

In a post shared on X on Tuesday — hours after her brief comments to reporters outside the House floor — Crockett sought to clarify her remarks about Abbott, saying that she “wasn’t thinking about the governor’s condition — I was thinking about the planes, trains, and automobiles he used to transfer migrants into communities led by Black mayors, deliberately stoking tension and fear among the most vulnerable.”

“Literally, the next line I said was that he was a ‘Hot A** Mess,’ referencing his terrible policies,” Crockett wrote. “At no point did I mention or allude to his condition. So, I’m even more appalled that the very people who unequivocally support Trump — a man known for racially insensitive nicknames and mocking those with disabilities — are now outraged.”

Spokespeople for Abbott and the Human Rights Campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither did spokespeople for Cuellar or Gonzalez.

Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) said Tuesday evening that he intends to file a resolution that seeks to censure Crockett for her comments, saying in a statement that the congresswoman’s behavior “is a disgrace to everything Texas and the United States stands for.”

“The story of our great Governor of Texas is one of unwavering resilience and perseverance,” Weber said in a statement Tuesday. “Meanwhile, the actions of Jasmine Crockett — stooping to vile levels of discrimination and despicable political attacks — are nothing short of reprehensible. She must be censured and held accountable for the venomous rhetoric she spews as a representative of the Democratic Party.”

Censure is one of three options the House utilizes for disciplining its members, along with the more severe expulsion and the less harsh reprimand. While censuring a lawmaker used to be rare, the House has been using the admonishment more regularly in recent years.

The Texas Democrat, first elected to the House in 2022, has built a reputation for going viral for animated and unfiltered moments in Congress. Last year, she got into a spat with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) during a House Oversight Committee meeting after Greene attacked Crockett’s physical appearance.

Greene suggested that Crockett’s “fake eyelashes” got in the way of her reading. In response, Crockett said Green has a “bleach-blond, bad-built butch body.”

At another Oversight hearing in January, a conflict with Rep. Nancy Mace led the South Carolina Republican to ask Crockett if she wanted to “take it outside.”

Moments like these elevated Crockett’s profile among Democrats, with many seeing her as a rising star of the party who has been able to connect with voters through her candid approach to politics. But it’s that same spotlight that Republicans targeted as they criticized the Texas Democrat for her mockery of Abbott.

In a post on X on Tuesday evening, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) called Crockett’s comments “shameful and completely out of line.” He also suggested there was a link between the remark and her involvement in calls for nonviolent protests against Tesla, which is owned by billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk.

“This type of reckless rhetoric has already led to the vandalism of private property, firebombing of cars, and targeting of Tesla owners,” Johnson wrote. “The nonsense needs to stop now before someone gets hurt.”

Crockett’s comments were also condemned by several of President Donald Trump’s allies, including Rudy Giuliani, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who said Crockett’s comments were “disgraceful.”

“Can you imagine if a Republican said something like this?” he asked in an X post.

In her social media posts to explain her “Governor Hot Wheels” comment, Crockett pointed out that the Republicans who criticized her have also openly supported Trump, who has frequently mocked people with disabilities.

“Keep that same energy for all people, not just your political adversaries,” Crockett said.

Trump has a history of mocking the disabilities of a variety of individuals, including President Joe Biden’s stutter and the physical disabilities of a reporter who has joint limitations. On the 2024 campaign trail, Trump referred to his Democratic opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, as “mentally impaired” and compared her actions to those of “a mentally disabled person.”

Musk, who’s tasked with leading the U.S. DOGE Service to cut the federal government’s size, has also repeatedly used a slur that refers to a person with mental handicaps on X, his social media platform, since Trump won the election. He’s deployed it in reference to actor Ben Stiller, Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen and historian Timothy Snyder.

Spokespeople for House Democratic leadership did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But on Tuesday, some House Democrats appeared split on their reactions to Crockett’s remarks.

Rep. Debbie Dingell (Michigan) — who chairs the House Democrats’ messaging arm and also leads the Bipartisan Disability Caucus — rejected Crockett’s remarks.

“I’ll just say — it’s not who I am,” Dingell said after being asked whether she thought Crockett’s comments were appropriate.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York) — who, like Crockett, is also seen as one of the Democratic Party’s most successful messengers — said Republicans’ criticism of Crockett was another attempt by the party to intimidate their opponents.

“It’s very clear that they want to punish anyone who disagrees with them,” she said.

Amanda Morris contributed to this report.