WASHINGTON – The chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus told FOX News that allegations that he called a female lawmaker a "whore" are not true.
Rep. Loretta Sanchez made the claim in an interview published on the Web site Politico.com. Sanchez resigned from the caucus Wednesday in protest of Rep. Joe Baca's caucus leadership.
Baca denied a rift within the caucus on Thursday, saying that he would welcome Sanchez back to the caucus and hopes to work with her again.
"There is none, absolutely none. Everybody is working together," Baca said.
Baca denies that he called Sanchez the name, referring to it as a personality conflict.
"It's unfortunate that Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez has decided to resign from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and has chosen to air baseless statements," Baca said in a written statement. "We cannot allow distractions or personality conflicts to interfere with the important work we are doing."
This isn't the first time the two California Democrats found themselves at odds with each other.
Sanchez wasn't a fan of Baca's chairmanship of the caucus, which represents 21 Hispanic House Democrats. Sanchez voted against him last November for the leadership post. Four other women members abstained, including Sanchez's sister, Rep. Linda Sanchez, Reps. Nydia Velazquez of New York and Lucille Roybal-Allard and Hilda Solis of California. They complained that women were not getting the representation they deserved in the caucus.
Click here to read the full story on Politico.com
Rep. Linda Sanchez said she supported Loretta Sanchez's decision and hopes the caucus will do a better job of including Latina members.
"It is my hope that the leadership will take the concerns that the Latinas have expressed seriously," Linda Sanchez said in a statement. "Latinas are the fastest growing segment of the minority population and their perspective deserves to be represented, not denigrated."
In a statement received by FOXNews.com Wednesday night, Sanchez said, "Last year, I and other members of the caucus voiced our strong opposition to Mr. Baca's chairmanship due to a violation of election rules. An official response to our inquiry is still in question."
The League of United Latin American Citizens hopes the dispute will be resolved quickly to avoid a negative impact on the Hispanic community.
“We think both congressmen are strong leaders for this Hispanic community. We don’t have any details about the dispute and we hope that it will be resolved quickly for the good of the community,’ said Brent Wilkes, national executive director of LULAC, a Hispanic rights group.
Just a few weeks ago, four female lawmakers requested that Baca repeat the election because the group did not follow its own rules of using secret ballots. Sanchez's spokesman said they never received a response.
Baca, representing California's 43rd District since 1999, responded to Politico.com that Sanchez's comments are "categorically untrue."
And then, last March, six caucus members — including the Sanchez sisters — cut ties to the group's campaign arm after it helped finance the unsuccessful campaigns of Baca's two sons for seats in the California Legislature.
Baca defended the decision to give money to them and other nonfederal candidates, saying the caucus should seek to build a farm team. Opponents said the focus instead should be on electing Latino House members.
Sanchez said she will continue to advocate for the Hispanic community and serve as the chairwoman of the Banking and Finance Committee for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, a non-profit organization.
Sanchez is in her fifth term representing California's 47th District.
FOXNews.com's Michael De Dora Jr. and FOX News' Molly Hooper contributed to this report.
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