Chair's Diss to Trans Lawmaker Brings House Meeting to Halt

A hearing held by a House Foreign Affairs panel came to a sudden and contentious close on Tuesday after a Republican congressman misgendered Sarah McBride of Delaware, the first openly transgender person elected to Congress. The Hill and New York Times report that Rep. Keith Self of Texas, who chairs the Europe subcommittee, introduced McBride as "Mr. McBride" during a meeting on arms control and sending help overseas, to which McBride shot back, "Thank you, Madam Chair," before launching into her speech.

But although McBride seemed willing to move on in the moment, one of her Democratic colleagues was not. "Mr. Chairman, you are out of order," Rep. William Keating of Massachusetts declared after asking Self to repeat his introduction (Self again used the word "mister"). "Mr. Chairman, have you no decency? I mean, I have come to know you a little bit. But this is not decent." Keating also said he wouldn't continue the meeting "unless you introduce a duly elected representative the right way." Self simply adjourned the hearing.

Later on Tuesday, Self doubled down. "It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female," he posted on X, including a video of the interaction between himself and McBride. It's not the first time McBride has been a target of her GOP co-workers: Last month, Rep. Mary Miller introduced McBride as "the gentleman from Delaware" before McBride's first floor speech. Other Republicans, including Rep. Nancy Mace, have sought to bar McBride from using women's restrooms on the grounds of the US Capitol.

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The Times notes that McBride didn't make any public comment about being misgendered during the hearing, but she later said she was disappointed the meeting had so abruptly come to a halt. "I was prepared to move forward with my questions for the subcommittee on nuclear nonproliferation and US support for democratic allies in Europe," McBride said in a statement to Politico. After video started circulating over her exchange with Self, McBride tweeted on X, along with a Times article about Wall Street's recent wild ride: "Now that I have your attention ... Our economy is tanking because of Trump's tariffs." (More Sarah McBride stories.)