The man who refused to shake hands with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at Rep. Elijah Cummings’ memorial in the Capitol in a moment that went viral said the snub was personal, not political, according to a report on Monday.

Bobby Rankin, one of the pallbearers during the ceremony last Thursday, walked directly past McConnell in the receiving line to talk with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

McConnell stood with his hands clasped in front of him while Rankin and Pelosi spoke.

Many thought Rankin had cast “shade” on the Republican leader to show his loyalty to Cummings, who feuded with President Trump before his death on Oct. 17.

But Rankin, 64, said he held McConnell responsible for his brother not getting the veterans benefits he deserved. His brother died last October from cancer after being exposed to contaminated water when he was a Marine at Camp Lejeune.

“Elijah Cummings reached across party lines trying to help my brother get his military benefits, and Mitch McConnell was one of the persons he reached out to,” Rankin told the Washington Post.

“When I saw Mitch McConnell, all I saw was my brother’s face,” Rankin added.

He said his brother, Jerry, was eligible for free health care and disability compensation though the Department of Veterans Affairs because he was exposed to tainted water at the North Carolina base.

Jerry, he said, had become sick more than 10 years ago.

Rankin, who wasn’t clear on McConnell’s precise role in his brother not receiving the benefits, told the newspaper Jerry was on his mind because last Friday was the anniversary of his death.

“I could not put my hands in the man’s hand who refused to help somebody who served his country,” Rankin said. “I couldn’t do it, because I was thinking about my brother.”