Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Friday afternoon rebuffed President Donald Trump for his reported comments earlier this week using the term "shithole" to refer to some countries.
"What the president said is offensive and doesn't reflect who we are as a country," Murkowski said in a post on Facebook. "It is particularly offensive just days ahead of our recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King. I am disappointed and suggest we move quickly to resolve the status of the Dreamers in a way that truly reflects our values."
Trump on Thursday had been discussing protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries with lawmakers when he used the term, according to The Washington Post.
"Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" the Post reported Trump said. The newspaper cited "several people briefed on the meeting."
The term "Dreamers," per Murkowski's post, refers to young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children who are allowed to remain here under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA.
Trump appeared to deny using the term "shithole" on Friday, the Post reported.
"The White House did not deny Thursday that Trump used the vulgarity," according to the Post.
A spokesman for Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan referred a request for comment to a Friday afternoon tweet from the senator that did not mention Trump specifically.
— SenDanSullivan (@SenDanSullivan) January 12, 2018
"America's racial, ethnic and religious diversity is a critical source of our strength as a nation," part of Sullivan's tweet said. "All Americans must remember that the founding ideal of our country — E Pluribus Unum: out of many, one — has truly made America great."
Alaska Rep. Don Young's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.