Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, has earned a reputation as one of the “meanest” members of Congress to work for, but has also become one of its most recognizable faces, having represented the same district in the House of Representatives for over 28 years.
However, she announced this week that she would run for mayor of Houston in the off-year election, potentially ending her tumultuous time in Congress if she were victorious.
Here’s a look at some of Jackson Lee’s wildest moments from her years in the House:
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Representative Sheila Jackson Lee speaks as student loan borrowers and advocates gather for the People’s Rally to Cancel Student Debt during the Supreme Court hearings on student debt relief on February 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for People’s Rally to Cancel Student Debt)
Allegations of abuse of staff
Jackson Lee has long been known as one of the most difficult members of Congress to work for, and according to a 2011 Daily Caller report that quoted a number of former staffers, he often used demeaning language and swear words when addressing them.
“You stupid motherf—-r,” one former employee said Jackson Lee called him “constantly,” while another described an occasion when her parents visited from out of town and heard Jackson Lee call her a “stupid idiot.” due to a schedule change. “Don’t be an idiot, silly girl,” former assistant Jackson Lee told her.
Another former aide claimed that Jackson Lee once told them, “You don’t understand. I’m a queen and I demand to be treated like a queen.”
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Others said she often forced them to work long hours, even into the early hours, and demanded that she be driven by staff wherever she went, no matter how short the distance.
President Joe Biden takes a selfie with Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) after delivering the State of the Union Address on Feb. 7, 2023, in the House Chamber of the Capitol in Washington, DC. (Jacquelyn Martin-Pool/Getty Images)
Airplane seat scandal
In December 2017, Jean-Marie Simon, a United Airlines passenger traveling on a flight to Washington, D.C. from Houston, claimed she was bumped from her first class seat so it could be given to Jackson Lee.
Simon, a Democrat and attorney, accused United of giving Jackson Lee preferential treatment, though the company denied the allegation, claiming the woman canceled her ticket using its mobile app. Simon denied that she had canceled her ticket, but was given a new seat in a lower seating class.
“I didn’t ask for anything exceptional or unusual and I didn’t get anything exceptional or unusual,” Jackson Lee said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle after the incident, later claiming on Facebook that she was targeted because she is black.
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Simon pushed back the racism claim by admitting she had no idea who Jackson Lee was during the incident, saying she would have reacted the same if it had been “Donald Duck” in her seat.
U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) speaks at a news conference to discuss the House Judiciary Committee’s oversight agenda following the Mueller hearing in Washington, U.S., July 26, 2019. (REUTERS/Erin Scott)
Allegations of retaliation after employee rape claim
Jackson Lee was forced to resign as president of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) in 2019 following a lawsuit by a former employee who claimed to have been fired in retaliation for planned legal action related to an alleged rape in 2015 by a supervisor .
According to The New York Times, which first reported on Jackson Lee’s plans to step down, CBCF board members told Jackson Lee to step down as chairman or be removed after the lawsuit went public a week earlier. became.
In the lawsuit, the unnamed former staffer alleged that she was raped while a CBCF intern by Damien Jones, the foundation’s internship program coordinator and her supervisor at the time. Two years later, she was hired to work for Jackson Lee, who had recently been named Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CBCF. Shortly after she was hired, Doe said Jackson Lee received a text message from then-CBCF CEO A. Shaunise Washington.
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“I just received a notification that you have a new employee,” Washington allegedly messaged Jackson Lee, citing the employee’s name. “Call me, I have background information on her.”
Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) speaks at a news conference calling for Supreme Court expansion on July 18, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Take Back the Court Action Fund)
The staffer said she was fired in March 2018, about two weeks after telling Jackson chief of staff Glenn Rushing that she had “recently learned more about her case involving Mr Jones and CBCF, and intended to take legal action”. against the foundation.
The lawsuit was dismissed in 2020.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Jackson Lee’s office for comment, but did not receive an immediate response. Over the years, however, the congresswoman has attributed criticism of her alleged behavior to “racism” and “sexism.”
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.
