A debate between Congresswomen Jasmine Crockett and Nancy Mace intensified after the latter insinuated that she was ready to fight during a disagreement over transgender rights.

The reps attended a Tuesday Oversight and Accountability Committee on Tuesday, January 14, during which Crockett (D-Texas) requested that the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties be reestablished by her fellow members. The subcommittee, which addressed issues like freedom of assembly, voting rights, and criminal justice reform initiatives, was disbanded in February 2023. 

In response, Mace noted her ongoing debate over transgender women's accessibility to women's restrooms. “You want women to be forced to undress in front of men in the locker room and in dressing rooms, and it’s so hypocritical for you to sit here and … be screaming from the rooftops about the right to privacy and civil rights when you don’t respect women,” Mace said, according to “The Hill.”

Mace, who stressed being a rape survivor, alleged that Crockett was trying to “take” away her rights, although she was previously a ranking member of the subcommittee. “We want to talk about real freedom. Women have freedom in this country. Women have the freedom to go to a private, women’s-only space and not see a man in it,” Mace continued.

But Crockett fired back, saying that her stance “doesn’t just boil down to one conversation,” and accused Mace of playing the victim for campaign purposes. “So, she’s gonna keep saying ‘trans, trans trans’ so that people will feel threatened, and child, listen,” Crockett said.

This angered Mace, who told Crockett that she is “not a child” but instead a “47 year old woman” who has “broken glass ceilings.” “If you want to take it outside…” Mace ended before Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) stepped in.

Opinions flew about what Mace meant, with a spokesperson for Crockett claiming that Mace was “threatening physical violence.” But on X, formerly Twitter, Mace downplayed the moment in a statement.

“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,” her statement read.