Jasmine Crockett calls ‘Karen’ Nancy Mace as the conflict escalates

Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett and South Carolina Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who sparred during a contentious House Oversight Committee meeting, continued their spat on social media, with one calling the other a “Karen.”

Newsweek has reached out to Crockett’s and Mace’s offices for comment via email outside regular business hours.

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. The GOP has long made targeting transgender inclusion a key campaign issue. In November, Mace had introduced a bill that sought to prevent transgender female members and staff from using women’s restrooms at the Capitol.

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.

What to know

During the House Oversight and Accountability Committee meeting Tuesday, Mace asked Crockett if she would “take it outside.”

Mace had objected to Crockett referring to her as “child” during her speech, replying, “If you want to take it outside, we can.”

Crockett had criticized Mace’s rhetoric about transgender people, including claims that transgender women use women’s locker rooms and bathrooms to sexually assault women.

The two lawmakers have since continued their exchange on social media.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday night, Crockett, who is black, called Mace, who is white, a “Karen,” a slang term used to describe entitled white women who yell at service workers or engage in offensive or even racist behavior, such as calling the police on black people for no reason.

Crockett was referring to an injury Mace said she suffered when she was “physically attacked” by a “professional man” who shook her hand at the Capitol in December. James McIntyre of Illinois has pleaded not guilty to an assault charge following his arrest. Mace was later seen wearing a sling on his arm.

In response, Mace, who was raped at age 16, said she was attacked by a “grown man who outnumbered me” and accused Crockett of being a member of Congress who doesn’t want to “protect women and girls.”

In another post, Mace denied wanting to fight Crockett during the oversight meeting, saying she would “take the conversation off the floor.”

The Women and Girls in Sports Protection Act passed the House by a vote of 218-206 on Tuesday.

The bill seeks to amend Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or educational program receiving federal government support, to prohibit schools from allowing transgender girls or women to participate in sports or activities “designed for women or girls.”

What people say

Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett signed the X: “Nancy Mace loves the ‘uneducated’ as Trump calls them. Please explain to me how the same damn Karen who called the Capitol Police on a kid who shook her hand would act like she was going to fight me ?!ME…the same person who has represented real murderers in court.She is an attention seeking loser who clearly has some fundraising goals to hit.

South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace wrote on X: “Jasmine, I sustained two injuries when I was assaulted at the Capitol a few weeks ago by a grown man who leveled me with a long shot. Jasmine, I have PTSD from the abuse I suffered at the hands of a man, including real violence, you are not hell-bent on talking back, or you can just sit back and protect women and girls and theirs rights and you are not one of them.

“This ugly woman has no place in Congress. She lies. She demeans women. She calls rape survivors names. She calls women’s fear of rape a ‘fantasy’ and ‘dramatic’…”

In another post she wrote: “Let me be clear: I wanted to take the conversation off the floor to have a more constructive conversation, not to fight. At no point was there any intent to hurt anyone.

I was just assaulted by a pro tr*ns man a few weeks ago and am still in physical therapy for my injuries. I know firsthand how the left is capable of doing real physical harm.”

The Congressional Equality Caucus wrote on X about the Women and Girls in Sports Protection Act: “Instead of using their majority to actually help Americans, one of the first bills the GOP is debating is a bill to deny trans students the opportunity to be part of their school’s community, learn lessons in sportsmanship, and play with their friends. This bill is not about protecting women. In fact, it could force any student to answer invasive personal questions about their bodies and face humiliating physical inspections to ‘prove’ they are a girl HR 28 opens the door to abuse of EVERY female student.”

Florida Republican Representative Greg Steube, the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement: “Americans are united in our belief that men have no place in women’s sports, whether it’s breaking records, walking into locker rooms, or stealing scholarship opportunities. Denying biological truth erases fairness in sports and puts women’s safety and opportunities in jeopardy danger. Today’s passage sends a clear message to the Senate – protecting women and girls in sports is not negotiable.”

What happens next

The Women and Girls in Sports Protection Act will now go to the Senate, where it will need to clear a 60-vote filibuster to become law.

If passed, the law will likely have to be signed into law by President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn into office on January 20. He has expressed support for transgender sports bans.