Mast, a Republican who represents St. Lucie and Martin counties and a northern part of Palm Beach County, posted a video of the scene on social media on December 8. The footage exhibits two flags tucked in a gray plastic bin with shifting directions alongside Jackson Lee’s title.
The bin is marked “trash,” with printed pictures of half-eaten meals and a banana peel.
“So this can be a WTF [what the fuck] second right here within the House of Representatives. People are shifting workplaces and that is apparently the place Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee retains her American flag and her [prisoner of war] flag: within the rubbish can, within the trash. That’s her concept of acceptable for shifting the American flag,” Mast says within the video.
Jackson Lee responded that the snafu was a “mistake by the home movers that ought to have been kindly identified to them.”
“As a re-elected member of congress, you recognize that workplace strikes are solely dealt with by the Architect of the Capitol (AOC). You know I had nothing to do with this,” Jackson Lee replied to Mast on Twitter.
Jackson Lee’s response features a video of dozens of items of displaced furnishings within the hallways of a congressional workplace wing to indicate the size of the transfer. A message she acquired from the Architect of the Capitol, addressing the controversy, claimed that the bin “shouldn’t be and has by no means been a trash receptacle.”
Jackson Lee recommended Mast “selected to run to Twitter to lust for retweets like a baby,” as an alternative of approaching her straight. The congresswoman stated the 2 of them may have labored collectively to coach congressional movers on tips on how to correctly retailer and deal with American flags.
Prior to Jackson Lee’s response, Mast had posted a message to her, saying, “Anytime you want a lesson on flag etiquette, let me know. It’s one of many first issues we’re taught in primary coaching.”
Mast is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, the place he misplaced each legs in a September 2010 explosion. He has represented Florida’s 18th District since 2017, having not too long ago overwhelmed out Democratic challenger Corinna Balderramos Robinson by a large margin within the midterm election.
Mast claims he took the American flag from the trash can and “respectfully saved it” for the movers.
Jackson Lee is a lawyer, former Houston decide, and senior congresswoman for Texas’ 18th District. She’s represented the district since 1995.
In her response to Mast, Jackson Lee maintained that her workplace “has at all times had an amazing respect for the flag.”
“I honor the American flag, the Texas flag, and am one of many few members that has a POW/MIA flag of their workplace,” the congresswoman wrote.
As of Saturday, December 10, the 2 congress members have been nonetheless wrangling over the incident. That afternoon Mast wrote again to Jackson Lee: “The incontrovertible fact that our flag was in a trash can for any cause & nobody in your crew thought to repair it’s all I must know.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell of California defended Jackson Lee over the weekend, asking Mast, “Now that the Architect of the Capitol has debunked your infantile declare, will you apologize to [Jackson Lee] for smearing her patriotism?”
The controversy got here on the heels of the House of Representatives’ passing the Respect for Marriage Act, which gives federal safety for same-sex marriages, and the National Defense Authorization Act, which units the annual funds for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Both Mast and Jackson Lee voted in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act.
Mast flipped to a no vote on the Respect for Marriage Act after supporting the invoice over the summer season. He stated over the weekend that he voted in opposition to the marriage-equality measure as a result of Democrats refused so as to add “amendments to strengthen the invoice by defending… spiritual liberties.”