Stansbury weighs in on heated DOGE committee hearing and Jimmy Kimmel reference
May 12—In a video that was played for comedic effect on late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene banged her gavel over and over, trying to silence New Mexico congresswoman Melanie Stansbury as she showed a photo Greene displayed was misleadingly cropped.
"I've literally, over the last 72 hours, heard from people, not only all over the country, but all over the world, who are grateful for me holding their feet to the fire. And people needed a moment of comic relief," Stansbury said.
The clip from the May 7 Delivering On Government Efficiency (DOGE) committee meeting, which focused on transgender athletes, marks Stansbury's second viral moment of the year. During President Donald Trump's joint address to Congress in March, Stansbury was captured on camera behind the president with a sign reading "This is not normal."
The DOGE committee is a House Oversight subcommittee created to work with the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. Greene, R-Ga., is DOGE committee chair, while Democrat Stansbury is ranking member, the top Democrat on the committee.
The committee was holding a hearing titled "Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports." The Trump administration has focused on transgender people, with executive orders focused on banning transgender athletes from organizations that receive federal dollars and transgender military members.
"I don't want any more women missing out on medal opportunity, avoiding athletic competitions, or missing out on college scholarships," Greene said in her opening statement.
During the hearing, Stansbury repeatedly questioned how the topic fit within the purview of the committee.
"All of this is a distraction from the real things that the Republicans are doing, which is they're marking up a reconciliation bill right now that completely guts Medicaid and food assistance and environmental programs," Stansbury told the Journal.
In the viral clip, Greene showed a photo of USA Fencing board chair Damien Lehfeldt in a suit where he appeared to be flipping off the camera. The caption "game day" was paired with the photo, which Greene said Lehfeldt had posted on social media ahead of the congressional hearing.
"It appears that you're trying to misrepresent a witness here, who you used subpoena powers against," Stansbury said, as she displayed what appeared to be an uncropped version of the photo, where Lehfeldt held up two fingers.
Lehfeltd was ordered to come to the hearing to answer questions about USA Fencing's policy allowing transgender women to compete in the women's division. Lehfeltd referenced the sport's long tradition of mixed gender competition and said the organization is statutorily not allowed to make more restrictive requirements than its governing organizations.
Fencer Stephanie Turner, who recently protested competing against a transgender woman by taking a knee ahead of their scheduled fencing match, was another of the witnesses called.
"It's not uncommon for a quicker, more athletic opponent to overcome the technique of another fencer. Athleticism is powerful in fencing. ... It's unbelievably demeaning to female fencers to put down the difference between men and women and any woman's loss to a man as a skill issue," Turner said in her opening statement.
USA Fencing does have a new policy prepared in case it is required by changes to the law or governing athletic organizations not to allow transgender women to compete in the women's category.
"New Mexico in particular, we stand with the trans and the LGBTQ plus community," Stansbury said. "We've passed really protective legislation in New Mexico."
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