Anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Nancy Mace (R-NC) has said she will file a resolution to censure out gay Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) for saying during a CNN appearance that Americans expect Democrats to “bring actual weapons” to the “fight for Democracy.”
Mace, who has shouted anti-trans slurs and threatened to fight a Democratic colleague during congressional hearings, and was accused of threatening to fight her Democratic colleague, called Garcia’s comment “dangerous and deranged.” Garcia says his comment was a figure of speech.
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In a Wednesday CNN interview, host Brianna Keilar asked Garcia about his decision to display a photo of transphobic billionaire Elon Musk and refer to it as a “d**k pic” at a recent subcommittee hearing. Garcia did this before criticizing Musk for accessing the private financial information about hundreds of millions of Americans after infiltrating the Department of the Treasury’s IT systems last week.
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“Well, [Musk] is a d**k, and I think he’s also harming the American public in an enormous way,” Garcia told Keilar. “What I think is really important and what the American public wants is for us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight. This is an actual fight for democracy, for the future of this country.”
Garcia told Keilar that he also considered it important to push back on the chairperson of the subcommittee, anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), saying, “[She] talks about having decorum about bipartisanship … [but] lies more than anybody else in the entire Congress.”
“So if she is going to make a mockery of hearings, I want to make sure that us as Democrats are bringing that same level of energy,” he added.
The next day, Mace said she would enter a House resolution to censure Garcia for his comments, writing, “Garcia’s call for ‘actual weapons’ against Elon Musk is dangerous and deranged. This isn’t a heat of the moment situation. This was intentional. His words are the lowest form of political thuggery. But because it’s one of their own, the Left stays silent. This double standard is disgusting. Rep. Garcia should be censured, and the fact that his party refuses to condemn him tells you everything you need to know about their so-called ‘values.’”
She filed the resolution on Thursday. The resolution states, “Violence, threats of violence, or attempts to incite violence against Federal employees should not be tolerated in the House of Representatives.”
In response, Garcia accused Mace of being “big mad” and wrote of her resolution, “These stunts are not going to silence me,” adding, “The hypocrisy is INSANE.”
I kid you the fuck not –
Rep Nancy Mace just filed a resolution to censure me because she’s big mad that I called Elon a dick and that I said Democrats should treat this moment like a bar fight.
Yeah, these stunts are not going to silence me. The hypocrisy is INSANE.
He elaborated in a post on X, writing, “Oh @RepNancyMace, have you never heard of a figure of speech? And ironic coming from you, considering you asked @RepJasmine to ‘take it outside’ during a hearing last month. Violence is never the answer.”
Garcia was referencing a January incident in which Mace got into a heated exchange with Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) during a House Oversight Committee hearing, where Crockett brought up Mace’s anti-trans rhetoric and said that she was using it to raise money.
“Somebody’s campaign coffers are struggling right now,” Crockett said, “so she’s going to keep saying ‘trans trans trans.’”
“Child listen…” Crockett said and that set Mace off.
“I’m no child! Do not call me a child! I’m no child!” Mace shouted, talking over Crockett. “Don’t even start! I’m a grown woman! I’m 47 years old! I’ve broken more glass ceilings than you ever have.” Mace eventually added, “If you wanna take it outside, we can do that.”
The phrase “take it outside” is widely understood as an invitation to engage in a physical fight.
However, later in the day, Mace wrote. “Let me be clear: I wanted to take the conversation off the floor to have a more constructive conversation, not to fight. At no point was there any intention of causing harm to anyone.”
Social media commenters widely mocked Mace for lying about her meaning and backing down from her threat.
Mace isn’t known for her decorum. In her effort to stop Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE), the first out transgender Congress member, from using the women’s restrooms at the Capitol, Mace has referred to McBride as “it” and as a “man.” She has also started selling anti-trans t-shirts and said that it’s “offensive” that McBride thinks she’s “equal” to other congresswomen. Mace also recently repeated anti-trans slurs during a House hearing and reportedly confronted a cisgender woman in a Capitol bathroom after mistaking her for trans.
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