Rep. Nancy Mace and Rep. Gerry Connolly (Getty Images)
Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., interrupted and permitted Connolly to finish his thoughts.
"To me, a slur is a slur, and here on the committee, a level of decorum requires us to try consciously to avoid slurs. You just heard the gentle lady actually actively, robustly repeated it," Connolly said. "And I would just ask the chairman that she be counseled that we ought not to be engaged. We can have debate and policy discussion without offending human beings who are our fellow citizens. And so I would ask as a parliamentary inquiry whether the use of that phrase is not, in fact, a violation of the decorum rules."
Mace – who recently introduced a bill to ban biological men from women's spaces on all federal property – snapped back that she wasn't going to be "counseled by a man over men in women's spaces or men who have mental health issues dressing as women." The South Carolina Republican also made headlines last November with her push to ban biological males from women's bathrooms in the U.S. Capitol, inspired by the election of Sarah McBride, D-Del., as the first openly transgender woman elected to the House.
TWO HOUSE DEMS JOIN GOP TO BAN BIOLOGICAL MALES FORM GIRLS' SCHOOL SPORTS
The flag of the U.S. Agency for International Development flies in front of its office in Washington, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The hearing also fell into some confusion when Connolly demanded the committee subpoena the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tech billionaire Elon Musk.
A review of USAID’s recent history shows that it was repeatedly accused of financial mismanagement and corruption long before Trump's second administration, Fox News Digital previously reported.
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Musk has led the charge against USAID – an independent U.S. agency established during the Kennedy administration to administer economic aid to foreign nations – as he leads DOGE’s mission of cutting government fat and overspending at the federal level.
Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-lawmaker-scraps-democrat-hearing-over-transgender-slur-bathroom-rights-not-going-have-it