A leaked audio recording is causing trouble for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee after it showed her viciously verbally abusing a staffer. 

Lee, who is currently running to become the Mayor of Houston, one of America's largest cities, is heard on the recording berating the staffer over what sounds like a calendar issue. The language used is very adult-only, to say the least, and as you'll hear, it goes far beyond what anyone should consider normal or acceptable.

LEAKED AUDIO: Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee Berates Staffer

Full audio here: https://t.co/XCD3rlrCLn

Audio we received today appears to be of Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee berating her staff.

Sheila Jackson Lee • 0:01 - 0:09
Uh, you took a piece of paper from that… pic.twitter.com/AOUKE4utJ9

— Current Revolt (Tony O.) (@CurrentRevolt) October 21, 2023

Here's the transcript provided by the above post.

Sheila Jackson Lee • 0:01 - 0:09:

Uh, you took a piece of paper from that woman, uh, regarding, uh, something that was owned by Ducantell. Where is it? What, what date was it?

Staffer • 0:09 - 0:16:

Oh, Jerome took it upstairs. I'll have to call to pick it up when I switch out the papers. I'll call him.

Sheila Jackson Lee • 0:17 - 1:02:

I don't want you to do a g*****n thing. I want you to have a f*****g brain. I want you to have read it. I want you to say, Congresswoman, with such and such date. That's what I want. That's the kind of staff that I want to have. So some stupid other m**********r did it. And, and I don't have the information. Nobody sent me the information. I need to, uh, ensure my, um, schedule and, uh, you know, if, if Boo Boo did it, s**t ass did it, f**k face did it. And nobody knows a goddamn thing in my office. Okay? Nothing. I gave it to you. Your job was to get it on the calendar, imprint it in your brain, or send me the information back saying, “Congresswoman, I made sure that the Ovide Ducantell event that you gave me, uh, for a so-and-so date at seven is on the f*****g calendar.” Not to, oh, Jerome has it.

Sheila Jackson Lee • 1:02 - 1:33:

Okay. So when I called Jerome, he only sitting up there like a fat a** stupid idiot talking about, uh, what the f**k? He doesn't know. Okay? Both of y'all are f**k ups [inaudible]. It's the worst s**t that I could have ever had put together. Two g*****n big-ass children fucking idiots serve no g*****n purpose. Ain't managing nobody. Nobody's respecting them. Nobody gives a s**t about what you're doing and you ain't doing s**t. And this is an example of it. I gave it to Jerome. This is not child's work.

I know there will be some people who listen to the tape and dismiss it as someone just losing their cool in private. That's no excuse, in my opinion. The U.S. Congress is supposed to be a professional setting, and how you treat people when others aren't looking says a lot. It's one thing to get upset about something impactful in a high-stress situation. It's a completely different thing to freak out and verbally abuse a staffer over a calendar issue. Normal people don't react that way in that situation. 

Is this who Houston really wants to make their mayor? That city is already struggling enough as it is with crime and other issues caused by Democratic Party governance. Voters there would be wise to take this recording as a warning and look elsewhere. 

On a broader note, Lee's behavior is indicative of the toxic culture among many Washington politicians. Many of those representing the nation are just genuinely bad people. They are people who never would have made it in the real world and have instead made their bones taking advantage of a system that rewards the kind of racial resentment and irrational anger Lee consistently peddles. 

We should demand better, though, we shouldn't expect it given how much is overlooked in the name of political expediency. Lee is one of the worst actors to ever serve in the House of Representatives. Many will be rooting for her career to end after this next election.