Ivanka Trump, a senior White House adviser and the President's elder daughter, sparked online outrage Sunday when she tweeted a photo of herself with her younger son around the same time as reports circulated that the US government had lost track of nearly 1500 migrant children last year.

During a segment Wednesday night criticising the administration's immigration practices, Bee said: "You know, Ivanka, that's a beautiful photo of you and your child. Let me just say, one mother to another, do something about your dad's immigration practices, you feckless c---. He listens to you."

TBS later apologised in a separate statement: "Samantha Bee has taken the right action in apologising for the vile and inappropriate language she used about Ivanka Trump. ... Those words should not have been aired. It was our mistake too, and we regret it."

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also harshly criticised Bee earlier this week, calling her language "vile and vicious" and saying that her "disgusting comments and show are not fit for broadcast".