In a recent incident that has stirred controversy, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) was captured in a recorded audio clip berating one of her staff members using profane and derogatory language. The incident has raised questions about her leadership style and her future political moves.

The audio, obtained by the Texas newspaper Current Revolt and published on Saturday, features Jackson Lee engaged in a heated conversation with a male staff member. She expressed frustration about the handling of an event related to Ovide Duncantell, the founder of the Black Heritage Society, Inc. The congresswoman was adamant that her staff should be well-informed about calendar events, especially those involving Duncantell.

During the exchange, Jackson Lee repeatedly used profanity and criticized her staff member for not having the information readily available. The audio, in which she demanded that her staff be proactive and knowledgeable about event details, paints a picture of a tense and heated exchange between the congresswoman and her staffer.

The tirade reportedly had the congresswoman saying, “I don’t want you to do a [expletive] thing. I want you to have a [expletive] brain. I want you to have read it. I want you to say, ‘Congresswoman, it was such and such a date. That’s what I want. That’s the kind of staff that I want to have.”

Speaking to another employee, she stated, “When I called Jerome, he only sits up there like a fat [expletive], just talking about what the [expletive] he doesn’t know. Both of y’all are [expletive]-ups…This is the worst [expletive] that I could’ve ever had put together. Two [expletive] big [expletive] children. [expletive] idiots. Serve no [expletive] purpose.”

https://youtu.be/BPLAp00yH1w?si=ylSjh2ELflomLz6J

This incident is not the first time that Jackson Lee’s treatment of her staff has come under scrutiny. In 2019, the Democrat faced controversy when she was forced to resign as the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation following a lawsuit by a former employee who claimed that she had been fired in retaliation for planning legal action related to an alleged 2015 molestation by a supervisor during her time as a CBCF intern.

The lawsuit, although ultimately dismissed in 2020, shed light on a troubling situation. It revealed that the congresswoman had received a text message from the CBCF’s chief executive regarding the former staffer’s background. Subsequently, the employee claimed she was terminated after informing Jackson Lee’s chief of staff about her intentions to pursue legal action against the foundation.

In 2011, a report from the Daily Caller revealed that former staff members accused her of using demeaning language and name-calling. It was also alleged that she compelled her staff to work long hours, including late into the night, and insisted on being driven everywhere, regardless of distance.

This recent incident with the profanity-laced tirade has renewed questions about Jackson Lee’s leadership and temperament, particularly in light of her aspirations to become the mayor of Houston in an upcoming election.