If you’re going to work in U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee’s office, you had better have your game tight because your girl does not have time for slackers. The Texas Democrat has been in the hot seat this week after an unverified audio clip of someone going in on staffers in a rant with too may cuss words to count was released by Current Revolt on October 21.
In the clip, which is just over a minute and a half long, the woman is heard giving one staffer a serious tongue lashing when he tells her he has to call someone else for a document she’s requesting. The woman goes on to drop multiple F-bombs and describe another staffer as a “fat ass stupid idiot.”
“Two goddamn big ass children, (expletive) idiots who serve no goddamn purpose. Ain’t managing nobody, nobody’s respecting them, nobody gives a (expletive) about what you’re doing and you ain’t doing (expletive), and this is an example of it,” the woman is heard saying in the recording.
Jackson Lee has not confirmed that it is her voice on the tape. But the long-serving congresswoman, who has thrown her hat in the ring to become the next mayor of Houston, is blaming the tape’s release on State Senator John Whitmire, one of her biggest adversaries in the race.
“To anyone who has listened to this recording with concern, I am regretful and hope you will judge me not by something trotted out by a political opponent that worked to exploit this,” Jackson Lee said.
“I know that I am not perfect. I recognize that in my zeal to do everything possible to deliver for my constituents, I have, in the past, fallen short of my own standards, and there is no excuse for that.”
Jackson Lee is not the first woman in Congress to be criticized for her treatment of staffers. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has been accused of being tough on people who work for her as well. Klobuchar defends her actions by saying she has high standards for people on her team. “If you are a boss, you have to have high standards, and that is what I have always had. And that doesn’t mean it’s a popularity contest all the time,” she said.