WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Trump campaign surrogate who now holds a job in the administration is apologizing after attacking a reporter on her personal Twitter account.

Lynne Patton, who heads a regional office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, referred to reporter April Ryan as "Miss Piggy" in a tweet Wednesday. Ryan is the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks and frequently appears on CNN.

Patton later tweeted, "Tonight, I made an inexcusable comment on my personal Twitter account that I deeply regret & deleted on my own volition." Patton is apologizing to Ryan, HUD Secretary Ben Carson and the "#trump family."

Patton was an event planner for Donald Trump and his family before his 2016 presidential campaign.