On Thursday, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy appeared on television claiming that a recent Texas Democratic congresswoman was banned from a major U.S. airline following an episode at the gate.
McCarthy told the story that after boarding, she stepped back off the aircraft to make “one more” phone call after the plane’s door had been closed, and proceeded to pound on the aircraft door when they wouldn’t let her back on. According to McCarthy, the pilot passed the lawmaker’s purse out the cckpit window – and the carrier barred her for life.
D.C. DRAMA
Who is the biggest DIVA in Washington D.C.? Turns out it’s NOT Nancy Pelosi!@SpeakerMcCarthy says one Congresswoman HELD UP A PLANE ✈️so she could make a phone call. Then the airline BANNED her
Who do YOU think he’s talking about? pic.twitter.com/8JPOgTDi0H
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) August 8, 2025
The ex-congressional leader didn’t name the congresswoman or the airline, but the Fox News host asked if he meant late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, and McCarthy smirked, replying “I think you know who we’re talking about.”
United Airlines In Houston
Here’s the thing – the story has elements to it that are factual but appears to mix up different incidents and get the conclusion wrong.
- Jackson Lee did have an incident where her purse was shoved through the cockpit window by a pilot.
- And she was separately threatened with a ban from Continental Airlines over a different incident.
- But the congresswoman, who represented Houston where Continental was based, continued to fly the airline – and continued to fly United after those two carriers merged.
Jackson Lee was a very challenging flyer, given to tirades over things like her meals in first class, literally declaring the dreaded “don’t you know who I am?” in the late 90s.
“She screamed at the top of her lungs at least a minute,” Burruss quotes Cox as telling her. “She embarrassed the flight attendants and the passengers in first class. And she embarrassed herself.”
According to Burruss, Cox claimed Lee declared, “Don’t you know who I am? I’m Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Where is my seafood meal? I know it was ordered!”
Continental Airlines threatened to ban her over the incident even given her stature in their home market.
In 2007, Jackson Lee deplaned a flight in search of a purse that she thought she’d left at her gate, the aircraft pushed back, and she demanded to re-board. That’s similar to McCarthy’s story about conflict over a purse and door closure. And it ended with her purse being on the aircraft, and getting dropped out the cockpit window (emphasis mine):
Jackson Lee had boarded her plane but became flustered when she couldn’t find her purse, thinking she had left it in the boarding area. She deplaned in search of the errant purse, and the plane pulled away from the gate.
The irate Congresswoman then demanded to be let back on the plane, calling the airline employees racist after they refused to bring the plane back, which was against FAA rules.
The crew did recover the missing purse, which had been on the plane the whole time. Without any fanfare, the crew dropped it from the cockpit window before taking off — without Jackson Lee.
However she continued to fly Continental and later United! In 2017, United even downgraded a passenger in order to give Congresswoman Jackson Lee her first class seat.
When that woman complained, the congresswoman accused her of racism – which was implausible because the woman had complained before knowing who had taken the seat.
She may well have been banned by an airline (difficult to prove a negative) but the story McCarthy tells is inaccurate and did not relate to any actual ban.
During Jackson Lee’s time in Congress she chaired the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection and the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
She claimed in 2014 that “the Constitution is 400 years old.” In 2024 she told a high school that “the Moon is a planet made mostly of gases” and explained that it emits energy and that an eclipse occurrs when the Earth is unusually close to it. She also confused Mars and the moon, once asking whether the Mars rover had captured a photo of Neil Armstrong’s flag.
In 2023, audio was leaked of her launching into a profanity-laced tirade calling her staffers “fat‑ass stupid idiots” and “f‑ups.”
But former Speaker McCarthy’s claim that she was banned by a major airline over the incidents he described appears to have been pretty inaccurate. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee died on July 19, 2024.
(HT: Enilria)
So she’s a blithering idiot and McCarthy is a liar. Charming bunch.
She may be gone, but Jasmine Crockett is a worthy successor.
I might try the, “Do you know who I am?” thing. Who knows, it might just work.
I was going to say, must be something in the water in Houston, Crockett isn’t her direct successor, but is exhibiting the same crazed behavior. Then again, MICDS alums learn that behavior to get their HS diplomas.
Something stinks in this story. Once you’re on, you can’t just get off to make a call. Once the door is closed, you’re not allowed on the jet bridge to knock on the door. Just saying.
What was McCarthy’s point in bringing this up? Why speak ill of the dead? Whatever happened to southern hospitality?
Congress lives in the past. Going on about something from 2007. Continental ceased to exist in 2010.
@Kirk – You have to be more subtle in your racism. You sound like you just took a break from reading your Daily Stormer.
She sounds a lot like the idiots in both parties from the White House down
@Doug — Or was it Olympus Has Fallen? Those two seemed identical, and came out around the same time.
CongressPeople are elected to represent their District (drawn by the State Legislature, but in Texas that’s a whole ‘nother story), Senators the entire State. Cong. Lee kept getting reelected by huge majorities, voters in her District obviously approved. Performance Art in media now appears to be the way to assure that, apparent buffoons, but very seldom a danger in accomplishing anything yea or nay.
@Hall Decker — Since gerrymandering is all the rage these days (and has been since the corrupt Supreme Court decided that states can do whatever they want), we should recognize that both sides do it, that Texas is indeed doing it at a different time than most (outside of the Census), and that ‘blue’ states should take the gloves off. Fight or lose. ‘Taking the high road’ is for losers.
The crazy thing about all this is that Trump is in the Epstein files.
Agreed with everything you said 1990.
@MmKk — Anyone that’s followed the degradation of voting rights in our country over the last few decades should be alarmed. Voters should choose their elected representatives, not politicians picking their voters. The recent 2013 Shelby and 2016 Common Cause cases really have chipped away at the 1965 Voting Rights Act. We’re willfully forgetting a lot of hard lessons learned here. Clearly, some folks celebrate all of this… because they think it’ll benefit them alone. Well, folks, the game has changed. Stop playing by the old rules. Fight to win.
@ 1990. No, Gerrymandering has been around since Elbert Gerry, early 1800s. All sides do it, to their discredit. Illinois is the worst in the nation. The first mid-census proposal to redistrict I remember was from the original Mayor Daley, who wanted to get fellow D Ab Mikva.
Can we all agree on the EVERY legal citizen of age should be able vote and NOT have a our votes diluted by illegal or fraudulent votes?
@WILLIAM MARTIN — I’m gonna assume you’re blaming immigrants? *sigh* So, how about that bi-partisan immigration reform in 2024, or even 2013 with Rubio? Oh, crickets? Gotcha. Yeah, just an issue to run on, not a problem either team wants to solve.
McCarthy is in no position to talk about anyone else’s behavior. Cockhold to Trump, he sat back and allowed members of his own party to engage in disgraceful behavior. Not many, but enough to show he was unwilling to hold his delegation to a higher standard.
He has no room to talk and should sit down and stop trying to get attention. It’s a poor look.
@Jack the Ladd — With respect, please do re-read above where I already acknowledged ‘both sides’; the relatively recent ‘change’ is that this Supreme Court has all-but encouraged partisan gerrymandering, when those ‘re-districting’ decisions really should be by independent, non-partisan commissions. Alas, even ‘blue’ states who did just that (see NY, CA) are gonna have to undo those commissions in order to fight the blatant cheaters in Texas and elsewhere, unless those ‘blue’ states wanna just give up… speaking of, didn’t the Heritage Foundation guy call for revolution, and say it ‘shall remain bloodless, if the left allows it…’ Umm, don’t be pushovers, folks.
Everyone in Texas and DC knew Sheila was a horrible, entitled person. Notorious for treating her staff like trash.
After another tirade at Continental’s gate staff, the DCA station manager came out and gave her printed schedules for every other carrier offering service to Houston.
@ Gary — OK, the woman is dead. Why disrespect her with this story?
If the above comment isn’t a fake post under @ 1990’s name, he should be banned. If not, the post should be deleted and the repsonsible party should be banned.
@ Gary — Well, the comment is gone, which is good.
@ WILLIAM — NEWS BULLETIN: “Illegals” do not vote (NEVER HAVE!!!) and about 0.001% of votes are “fraudulent”. Don’t be stupid.