Nancy Mace asks Jasmine Crockett if she wants to ‘take it outside’

On By Littum

South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace asked Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett if she would “take it outside” during a contentious House Oversight Committee meeting Tuesday.

Newsweek reached out to both Mace and Crockett’s press teams for comment via email.

Why it matters

The dispute between the two representatives started when the House voted to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports at federally funded institutions. Republicans emphasized the issue of transgender inclusion in sports during the 2024 election, putting Democrats who have embraced LGBTQ+ rights on the defensive.

While many polls show that acceptance of LGBTQ+ rights has generally increased over the past 20 years, most Americans are less supportive of transgender girls and women participating in women’s sports. A May 2023 Gallup poll found that 69 percent of Americans believe transgender people should play on teams that match their gender assigned at birth.

Crockett, Mace
U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) speaks on stage during Day 3 of Revolt World at Pangea Studios on September 22, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. US Representative from South Carolina Nancy Mace on the third day…


Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Revolt TV/KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images

What to know

The debate between Mace and Crockett came as the Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act is set to prohibit schools that receive federal aid from allowing transgender girls and women to play on women’s sports teams.

“Somebody’s campaign coffers are really struggling right now. So she can’t keep saying trans, trans, trans, so people will feel threatened. And kid, listen,” Crockett said at the meeting.

Mace was offended that Crockett called her a “child”.

“I’m no kid. Don’t even get me started. I’m a 47-year-old grown woman,” Mace said. “Do you want to take it outside?”

Chairman James Comer kept banging his gavel and called for order.

Crockett spoke again later in the meeting, saying that “You all need to find some people who actually care about their constituents.”

“The fact that you just sat up there and somehow figured out how to tie trans people into your argument makes no sense to me,” Crockett said. “Trans people aren’t going anywhere, just like when the racists wanted to ensure that black people would somehow be dismissed in this country, we’re not back either.”

It wasn’t the first time Mace and Crockett faced each other. Last Friday, during the debate’s resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress, Crockett responded to Mace’s “white privilege” comment.

“I can’t get over that gentle lady from South Carolina talking about white privilege. It was finally a spit in my face, as a black woman, for you to talk about what white privilege looks like,” Crockett said. .

Crockett also called Mace a “racist” at a DNC Black Caucus meeting a few months ago.

What people say

Democratic Representative Maxwell Frost of Florida on Bluesky: “Nancy Mace asked Jasmine Crockett to ‘go outside.'” Chairman Comer ruled that threats of violence against another member are okay as long as it is in the form of a question!

Kelsie Taggart, digital media director for American Bridge, on X: “The only person who ever seems to threaten violence in this Congress is Nancy Mace.

“I think they might have to start passing legislation to keep her out.”

The National Women’s Law Center, in a statement: “Don’t be fooled by the misleading title of these bills. They do nothing to address actual inequities and harms faced by women and female athletes. And worse—they are dangerous to women and girls. In addition to blatantly discriminating trans, non-binary and intersex students, sports bans are a gateway to policing how we all look and act.”

What happens next

The Republican-controlled House voted to pass the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” largely along party lines, with 218 members voting in favor and 206 against. Only two Democrats, Representatives Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar of Texas, supported the bill, while one Democrat, Representative Don Davis of North Carolina, voted absent.

The transgender athletes in sports bill still needs to pass the Senate, where it would need to clear a 60-vote filibuster to become law. It’s unclear if any Senate Democrats plan to vote for it.

If it passes the Senate, it will go to the president’s desk for a signature. For now, President Joe Biden remains in the Oval Office. But President-elect Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated on Monday, January 20, and he has expressed support for transgender sports bans.