Nancy Mace sits silently as Robert Garcia roasts her anti-trans record in House Oversight hearing

South Carolina Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace’s anti-trans rhetoric faced crisp scrutiny Wednesday during a House Subcommittee connected Government Efficiency proceeding that rapidly shifted from its stated intent to partisan attacks connected transgender youth.

The hearing, titled “Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” was chaired by far-right Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and featured grounds from athletes and USA Fencing officials. California Democrat Robert Garcia, the archetypal retired cheery migrant elected to Congress, utilized his clip to situation the hearing’s premise and item what helium called its existent agenda: targeting trans kids nether the guise of authorities oversight.

“This has virtually thing to bash with our committee’s jurisdiction,” Garcia said. “Apparently, this committee wants to bully trans kids and reason astir fencing tournaments.” He pointed retired that USA Fencing receives nary payer funding.

Garcia past focused connected Mace, who was waived onto the subcommittee for the proceeding (she doesn’t usually beryllium connected the committee). While she remained silent, Garcia entered into the grounds two articles documenting her fixation connected trans issues, including 1 noting she posted 326 times successful 72 hours astir transgender bath access. “That’s adjacent to hundreds of idiosyncratic posts per athlete,” helium said, citing NCAA information showing less than 10 trans athletes retired of much than 500,000.

Garcia besides work from a past punctuation attributed to Mace: “I powerfully enactment LGBTQ rights and equality. No 1 should beryllium discriminated against. I person friends and household that place arsenic LGBTQ. Understanding however they consciousness and however they've been treated is important. Having been astir gay, lesbian, and transgender radical has informed my sentiment implicit my lifetime.” Then helium turned to a witness. “Ms. Goss Graves, bash you cognize who said this? This was Congresswoman Nancy Mace,” helium said. “That needs to beryllium called out.”

Mace has embraced attraction for her anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. In April, she filmed and cursed astatine a constituent wrong a Charleston Ulta store aft helium asked whether she would clasp immoderate much municipality halls. “F**k you!” she shouted astatine the cheery man. She aboriginal posted the video to societal media and invoked LGBTQ+ issues unprompted.

Mace has besides falsely accused a foster attraction advocate who spoke up for transgender children of assault, mocked a young trans pistillate online, starring to decease threats against her, and attempted to face Delaware Democratic U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride successful a Capitol restroom, mistakenly targeting a cisgender woman.

“We person a measles outbreak and an anti-vax Health Secretary,” Garcia added. “Let’s absorption connected the 930 adults and kids with measles versus the 10 NCAA trans athletes.”

He closed with a informing astir the misuse of powerfulness successful Congress.

“It is conscionable truthful evident that this contented is being exploited by extremists to effort to disagreement Americans and demonize LGBTQ people. And it is shameful.”