Four days after touching off a firestorm of criticism by describing a fellow senator as a "bro with no ho," Sen. Mark Kirk apologized in a brief statement issued by his office.

"I apologize to the people of Illinois for my inappropriate remarks last week," the North Shore Republican said in the statement.

Kirk was chatting during a Senate committee vote Thursday when his words about South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham were picked up by a live microphone.

Graham, who is single, has announced his presidential candidacy and had earlier talked about how that might play in the White House. Graham said that his sister could be his first lady or that one of his many friends could fill in. "We'll have a rotating first lady," Graham said.

That prompted Kirk, apparently talking to a colleague, to say: "He's a bro with no ho."

"That's what we'd say on the South Side," Kirk went on to say.

The audio of his comments was quickly circulated by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and Kirk found himself facing a barrage of criticism over a quip that insulted both women and African-Americans.

— Chicago Tribune reports