Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, got into a heated exchange Tuesday during a House hearing that culminated with Mace challenging Crockett by asking if she’s wanted to go outside’.
The war of words came amid a discussion about civil and transgender rights, with Crockett calling for the re-establishment of a civil rights subcommittee and criticizing Mace’s rhetoric on transgender people.
“I see that someone’s campaign coffers are really struggling right now. So [Mace] will keep saying ‘trans, trans, trans, trans’ so people feel threatened, and kid, listen –’ Crockett said.
“I’m not a child, don’t call me a child, I’m not a child,” Mace interjected, prompting committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., to call for order in vain.
“If you want to take it outside, we can do that,” Mace said, turning to Crockett.
Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., tried to defend Crockett, saying Mace had incited violence against her.
After some discussion, Comer ruled that Mace’s comment had not been a call for violence. She said she could have asked Crockett to go outside for “a cup of coffee or maybe a beer.”
Spokespeople for Mace and Crockett did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday evening.
However, the two went to X to defend themselves.
Mace posted about the incident more than a dozen times and acknowledged that she had gone “out” to Crockett, but said her call to go out was not meant to mean she wanted to fight.
“Let me be clear: I wanted to take the conversation off the floor to have a more constructive conversation, not to argue. At no time was the intention to harm anyone,” she wrote in a message.
Crockett said on X that she had been threatened, and she called Mace “an attention-seeking loser.”
“Last I checked, threatening members in a committee room doesn’t exactly lower the cost of eggs,” she wrote.
Mace has become known in recent months for her actions towards transgender people. Following the election of the first openly transgender member of Congress, Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del. Mace introduced a measure banning transgender women from women’s bathrooms on Capitol Hill. Mace later said the resolution was “absolutely” intended to attack McBride, and she has since visited her district to speak to the state Republican Party about the measure.
The House Oversight Committee chamber where Tuesday’s exchange took place was also the site of a meeting last year that descended into chaos amid personal insults. In May, a hearing imploded after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., responded to a question from Crockett by saying, “I think your fake eyelashes are ruining what you’re reading.”
When Comer ruled that Greene’s words had not violated the commission’s rules, Crockett asked, “I’m just curious, just to better understand your statement.” If someone in this committee starts talking about someone’s pale blonde, poorly built, sturdy body, that wouldn’t be personalities, would it?’
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com