Sullivan regrets comment about "killing" senators

Oklahoma Republican Rep. John Sullivan has apologized for an "off the cuff" comment that he would have to kill senators in order to convince the Senate to pass the House budget.

TPM obtained audio (at left) of Sullivan telling constituents at what the outlet said was a town hall meeting in Bixby, Oklahoma on Wednesday about his frustrations that the budget passed by the GOP-led House did not have a chance of passage in the Senate, controlled by Democrats.

After saying he would "love" to get senators to listen to him and vote for the bill, Sullivan said this: "You know, but other than me going over there with a gun and holding it to their head and maybe killing a couple of them, I don't think they're going to listen unless they get beat."

Sullivan spokesperson Vaughn Jennings told Hotsheet that Sullivan "was speaking off the cuff and used a poor choice of words to make his point. He regrets saying it, and has sincerely apologized for doing so."

The official statement from Jennings is below:

"The congressman offers his sincere apologies to anyone he offended and for using a poor choice of words to make his point - which was that Senate Democrats are refusing to pass a budget or even vote on the 28 House passed jobs bills. Millions of American's are hurting - the Congressman feels their pain, and does not want his comments to deflect attention away the serious issues our country faces today, and he certainly does not condone any form of violence as a means to fix what is broken in Washington."