NOT COOL

Fight Erupts as Congressman Insults Trans Rep. Sarah McBride

Rep. Keith Self called McBride a “gentleman from Delaware.”

A fight broke out during a House Subcommittee meeting when Republican Rep. Keith Self deliberately misgendered Delaware Rep. Sarah McBride, the first transgender congresswoman. Self went out of his way to call McBride “Mr. McBride” and the “gentleman from Delaware”—to the shock of other congress members. McBride retorted, “thank you, Madam chair,” before another representative jumped to her defense. A horrified Rep. Bill Keating called Self’s actions “out of order.” He asked, “Mr. Chairman, have you no decency? This is not decent.” As things grew tense, Self tried to continue the hearing, but Keating cut him off. “You will not continue it with me unless you introduce a duly elected representative the right way,” he said. Self then adjourned the hearing and the representatives marched away. McBride made history as the first out transgender person elected to congress in 2024. When she was elected, she called the night a “testament to Delawareans that here in our state of neighbors, we judge candidates based on their ideas and not their identities.”