Konnichiwa: Ryan Zinke Finds Humor Where There Is None As His Week Goes From Bad to Worse

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke found a new way to make headlines this week, offering a response to an inquiry from Democrat Rep. Colleen Hanabusa that has been critized as "juvenile" at best, and "racist" at worst.

Hanabusa questioned Zinke about some aspect of President Donald Trump's budget, which proposes cutting the Obama-era Japanese-American Confinement Sites Grant, during a House budget hearing on Thursday.

The Congresswoman, whose U.S.-born grandfather was imprisoned in a Japanese-American camp because of his heritage during World War II, said that she only recently learned about her family's history because of how little the issue is discussed.

"I believe that it is essential that we as a nation recognize our darkest moments so that we don't have them repeat again," she said.

"So Mr. Secretary, I'd like to know… Even with the president zeroing it out, are you committed to continue the grants program?" she asked, adding, "Would we see them funded again in 2018?"

"Oh, Konnichiwa," Zinke replied with a smile and a nod, as the room fell silent and one woman sitting behind the interior secretary opened her mouth in disbelief to what she just heard.

As Hanabusa quickly pointed out, the Japanese greeting was inappropriate on more than one level, as it is usually used after midday to signify "good afternoon" or "good evening."

"I think it's still 'ohayo gozaimasu' [good morning], but that's OK," Hanabusa replied magnanimously. Zinke then committed to "look into it" and work with the Congresswoman on the grant because he agreed on its importance.

Zinke, who tried to defend himself on Tuesday from questions about the use of taxpayer money for a private jet, after it was revealed last week he spent $139,000 on three sets of double doors for his office, received a barrage of criticism from Democrat representives who rallied in Hanabusa's support. Democrat Representative of California Judy Chu called for Zinke to apologize.

"No better example of why we need continued support for historical sites where the rights of Japanese Americans were violated because of race. Zinke's comment betrayed a prejudice that being Asian makes you a perpetual foreigner. Intentional or not, it's offensive. He should apologize," she wrote on Twitter.

"The internment of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans is no laughing matter, Secretary Zinke. What you thought was a clever response to Rep. Hanabusa was flippant and juvenile," said Democrat Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, sharing a video of the exchange on Twitter.

Democrat Senator from Illinois, Tammy Duckworth, was even more succint. "Nope. Racism is not ok" she tweeted.

The U.S. government began imprisoning Japanese-Americans following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Some 120,000 Japanese-Americans were detained during World War II because they were perceived as a threat. No similar measures were taken against Americans of German or Italian descent.

President Gerald Ford apologized in 1976, calling the incarceration program a "setback of American principles."