Overheard Making A Less-Than-Complimentary Comment About A Flight Crew Member

New York Senator Charles Schumer (D) (pictured) is a bit red-faced over a comment he made when a flight attendant asked him and another passenger to turn off their cell phones.

Schumer, who has been an advocate of passengers rights in the U.S. Senate, was on board a U.S. Airways shuttle between DC and New York when he was asked by a flight crew member to turn off his cell phone. The New York Post reports that he initially argued with the flight attendant, saying he was allowed to use his phone until the cabin door was closed. The flight attendant said the plane was waiting at the gate until he finished his call. Schumer reportedly finished his call, but then muttered a word that begins with "b" and rhymes with "rich".

The remark was made quietly to the person sitting next to him, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D), but was apparently overheard by a House Republican aide that was sitting nearby, and who reported it to the media.

Schumer's office issued a formal apology for the incident. “The senator made an off-the-cuff comment under his breath after the flight attendant walked away. He shouldn’t have made it, he regrets it and he has apologized for it,” Schumer spokesman Brian Fallon said. He also reportedly called the flight attendant and personally apologized for the remark, an apology she has accepted.

The paper reports that an aide for Gillibrand, Glen Caplin, criticized Republicans for “trying to score cheap political points” from the incident.

FMI: http://schumer.senate.gov, http://gillibrand.senate.gov