An ex-chief of staff to Mike Pence reacted angrily at the White House on Monday when the Biden administration requested the former vice president apologize for “homophobic” statements regarding Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s parental leave made over the weekend. Pence joked at the black-tie Gridiron dinner on Saturday, “When Pete’s two children were born, he took two months’ maternity leave, which resulted in thousands of travelers being stranded in airports, the air traffic system shutting down, and airplanes nearly colliding on our runways,” before landing on the punchline, “Pete is the only person who has ever had a child. Everyone else gets postpartum depression after giving birth.” Pence’s statements were “offensive and improper,” according to Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who demanded that he apologize “to women and LGBTQ people.” Former Pence chief of staff Marc Short then tweeted, in part, “The Biden administration should spare America the faux outrage.”