U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender person elected to Congress, again faced backlash from GOP colleagues when she was misgendered multiple times by a Republican congressman Tuesday.
The incident occurred during a House foreign affairs subcommittee meeting when Rep. Keith Self, of Texas, introduced McBride, saying: “I now recognize the representative from Delaware: Mr. McBride.”
McBride then responded, “Thank you, Madame Chair,” hitting back at Self, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe.
Before McBride started her line of questioning, Rep. Bill Keating, of Massachusetts, responded back to Self.
“Mr. Chairman, could you repeat your introduction again, please?” said Keating, the ranking member of the subcommittee.
Self responded by saying he was following “the standard on the floor of the House.”
Keating shot back: “Will you repeat what you just said when you introduced a duly elected representative from the United States of America, please?”
In response, Self again misgendered McBride: “I will. The representative from Delaware: Mr. McBride.”
“Mr. Chairman, you are out of order. Mr. Chairman, have you no decency?” Keating said. “I have come to know you a little bit, but this is not decent.”
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Self said they would continue the hearing before being cut off by Keating.
“You will not continue it with me unless you introduce a duly elected representative the right way,” Keating said before Self adjourned the hearing.
McBride told ABC News in a statement Tuesday that she was “disappointed” by the decision to end the hearing early.
“I was prepared to move forward with my questions for the subcommittee on nuclear nonproliferation and U.S. support for Democratic allies in Europe,” she said.
The former Delaware state senator has faced pushback from Republicans since her election win in November.
Shortly after the election, GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, of North Carolina, presented a resolution that sought to ban transgender women from using female restrooms inside the Capitol.
Soon after, House Speaker Mike Johnson, of Louisiana, affirmed the transgender bathroom policy that extended to House office buildings, as well as in changing rooms and locker rooms.
“It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” Johnson said in a statement announcing the policy. “Women deserve women’s only spaces.”
McBride was also misgendered by GOP Rep. Mary Miller, of Illinois, before her first floor speech on Feb. 8.
“The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Delaware, Mr. McBride,” Miller said.
