A Democrat congressman was pictured looking at sexually explicit photographs while on a plane - in full view of a disgusted passenger. 

California Rep. Brad Sherman, 71, was seen in images circulating social media ogling images of scantily-clad women on his iPad while sat on a flight. 

An X user who first shared the images of Sherman on the aircraft wrote in a post seen by millions: 'Why did California Congressman Brad Sherman feel it was appropriate to look at porn on his iPad during a flight today?'

'His district deserves better representation than this!!'

The social media post featured three photos of Sherman, who represents California's 32nd congressional district, with his mouth agape as he looked at images of models in suggestive poses.

The congressman admitted to looking at the pictures in an interview hours later, but insisted he was merely scrolling on his tablet and had not been purposefully viewing pornographic content.

'If I see a picture of a woman, might I look at it longer than a sunset? Yeah,' he told Punchbowl News.

The Democrat lawmaker reasoned that he was actually on X's 'For you' page when he was photographed.

Sherman added: 'I must've looked at more than 1000 posts.'

According to X, the 'For you' page features posts that are 'based on recommendations of accounts you follow or topics you're interested.'

Sherman admitted that the sexualized pictures surfaced on his X feed mid-flight 'because of the algorithms.'

'Is it pornography? I don't think Elon Musk thinks so,' Sherman told the outlet.

However, he also recognized he should not have been looking at the risqué photos.

'Is it appropriate? No,' Sherman added.

Users online were flabbergasted by the senior Democrat's audacity in the middle of a packed airplane.

One X user wrote: 'With the screen brightness ALL the way up. Not an ounce of shame.'

Another added a facepalm emoji and said: 'Get a privacy screen.'

A third said: 'This is killing me.'

The California congressman's behavior even caught the attention of Donald Trump's inner circle.

Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, posted a close-up of Sherman's agape mouth on Friday evening.

'Bruh,' Cheung wrote. 'What a total gooner.'

Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace compared the photos of Sherman to how she was accused of berating law enforcement at a South Carolina Airport as they escorted her to her gate last month.

She posted on X: 'I don't want to hear a single peep from anyone in/around Congress, or the media, [about] how I stroll through an airport ever again...' 

In response to being called out for his inappropriate behavior, Sherman called for the Trump administration to 'release the Epstein Files.'