Former US representative has denied using the after several former members of her staff claimed they had heard her use the term during her time in Congress.

The allegations were included in a report published by on Wednesday (23 September), which was based on interviews with nine former Peltola staffers, alongside text messages and photographs reviewed by the newspaper.

Four former employees told the newspaper they had personally heard Peltola use the slur “f*****”, with some saying it was used in reference to members of her staff.

What did former Mary Peltola staffers allege?

The report also describes other incidents involving Peltola, including an allegation that she pushed a male aide in the chest during an argument over a missing memo in February 2024.

Her campaign disputes that account, saying Peltola accidentally bumped the employee. The campaign said she was distracted at the time because it was the first birthday of her late husband that she had spent without him.

Another incident described by the Times allegedly took place in December 2025, when Peltola was preparing for questions from reporters. A former aide said she pushed a water bottle into a staff member’s face while pretending it was a microphone. Two people who were present reportedly characterised the interaction as playful rather than aggressive.

Peltola’s campaign has acknowledged that she used the ableist slur “r*******” in a text message this year and said she regretted using it. It denies that she has used the anti-gay slur.

Her spokesperson has linked some of the reported behaviour to a period of personal loss. Peltola’s husband died in a plane crash in 2023, while her mother also died that year.

How has Peltola responded to the allegations?

“At the time of their passing, Mary was parenting kids through their own grief, serving full-time in the US House of Representatives thousands of miles from home, and running a competitive re-election campaign – all while shouldering the enormous burden of grief.

“Like any person who has gone through multiple personal tragedies in the span of a few months, Mary sometimes struggled to deal with her grief. But she treats her staff with respect and care, and she maintains close positive relationships with her staff spanning her nearly 30 years in public service.”

He added: “Exaggerating and outright lying about moments from the hardest period of her life, and falsely presenting them as a pattern of behavior, is wrong.”

Peltola declined to comment to the Times. She is running for the Senate against Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan in Alaska’s 3 November midterm election.