“It was a spontaneous moment,” Yoder said. “Other members of Congress were jumping in and I made the mistake of diving in. I was in for about 10 seconds and got back out, and it's obviously a mistake and something I regret.”
The late-night swim came to light during an unrelated federal probe. Yoder is not in trouble for the swim but it is raising a few eyebrows.
“I think we all have an obligation to behave in a way that's consistent with the office that we hold,” said Kansas Congressman Mike Pompeo, 4th Congressional District.
“And how we react to, you know, making a mistake seems to me to be at least as important as the mistake itself,” said Senator Moran.
Congressman Pompeo went on a similar trip to Israel and says you should behave no different than you do every day on the job.
“We were working every single day,” said Pompeo.
Yoder did apologize to voters. Fellow Kansas leaders say there are bigger issues to be concerned with.
“We're talking about it here in Wichita and in my view there's a lot of issues that need to be addressed by the American people as they prepare to vote in November that's different than this one,” said Moran.
Both Senator Moran and Congressman Pompeo say they want to discuss the matter with Yoder in person, not through the media.
“Well, it's certainly not an incident that I'm proud of,” said Yoder. “It happened over a year ago, and is something that was obviously a mistake on my part. And, I want folks in the district to know I'm apologetic for it. To the extent that folks are embarrassed or disappointed in me, I certainly feel regret for that.”
Yoder's wife was with him at the time of the incident. He was one of about 20 congressmen, staffers and family members to join in the late night swim. Despite his apology, Kansas Democrats are calling for Yoder's resignation.
Yoder is running for re-election. He has no official opponent this November.
Congressman Yoder talks about his mistake.
