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Rep.-elect Mia Love wants little to do with a scandal involving the House Republican whip who spoke at a white supremacist meeting in 2002.

Love, R-Utah, will be one of two black Republicans to join Congress when she takes the oath of office next week. The other is Rep.-elect William Hurd of Texas. Love has been inundated with media requests after the revelation Monday that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise spoke at a rally of white supremacists when he was a state lawmaker in Louisiana. Love issued a statement that sidesteps the controversy.

"It is difficult for me to comment on Rep. Scalise' speaking engagement from 12 years ago. I have not spoken with him about that particular day. All I can say is that, from my experience, the majority whip has been extremely helpful to me and all of my colleagues."

The story about Scalise, first raised by a liberal blogger in Louisiana, has jolted the political world out of its holiday slumber. Scalise said he does not remember speaking to the group but opposes what they stand for.

"I detest any kind of hate group. For anyone to suggest that I was involved with a group like that is insulting and ludicrous," he told The Times-Picayune.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has called for his ouster, saying his defense isn't believable. House Speaker John Boehner defended his colleague. "Like many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I know Steve to be a man of high integrity and good character," Boehner said.