CNN

Rep. Grayson issued a written apology for a controversial statement he made last month.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Florida Democrat Rep. Alan Grayson issued a written apology Tuesday evening for a comment for a month-old comment that has stirred controversy on Capitol Hill in recent days.

During a September radio interview, Grayson called Linda Robertson, an aide to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke who has also worked as a lobbyist, a "K Street whore."

In a statement issued Tuesday evening, Grayson said his comment was inappropriate.

"I offer my sincere apology," Grayson said in the statement, "I did not intend to use a term that is often, and correctly, seen as disrespectful of women.

"This characterization of Ms. Robertson, made during a radio interview last month in the context of the debate over whether the Federal Reserve should be independently audited, was inappropriate, and I apologize."

Just hours earlier, a spokesman for Grayson had defended the comment in a statement to CNN.

"She actually questioned his understanding of the difference between fiscal and monetary policy," Grayson spokesman Todd Jurowski said in the earlier statement. "She had the audacity to attack a congressman who used to be an economist. She's a career lobbyist who used to work for Enron and advocates for whatever she gets paid to promote."

The freshman Democrat recently grabbed the national spotlight after saying in a speech on the House floor that the Republican health care plan is "Don't get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly."

Related: In Grayson, liberals see health care hero

–CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney contributed to this report.