Sheila Jackson Lee breaks silence over berating staffer in leaked audio: ‘I expect excellence’

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) has broken her silence about the leaked audio that captured her cursing at a staff member, saying she “expects excellence at all times” and blaming the recording on her opponents and “extreme Republican supporters.”

Without apologizing to the staffer directly, Lee said in a statement via the Texas Tribune that she believes “everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect” and that she knows she is not perfect. She does not name the staffer she allegedly yelled at in the audio.

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“I recognize that in my zeal to do everything possible to deliver for my constituents I have in the past fallen short of my own standards and there is no excuse for that,” Jackson Lee said.

The audio, given to the Texas outlet Current Revolt over the weekend, appeared to be recorded by the staffer himself. He promised he would contact another staffer about a paper she had given them. From there, the congresswoman accused the staffer of not “having a f***ing brain” and shouted several expletives at him.

In her statement, Jackson Lee touted her office’s record of producing successful staffers and praised her staff members for the work they achieve together — but said she “expects excellence at all times.”

“I want each of them to know that the work we accomplish would never be possible without their hard work and dedication. Working as a public servant is demanding, but it is my calling,” Jackson Lee said.

“I expect excellence at all times and I know that it is because of their commitment that I am able to fulfill my duties as an elected official,” the Texas congresswoman continued.

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Jackson Lee, who has served in Congress for 28 years, is running for mayor of Houston. She said she hopes that people will look past the recording to focus on her legislative record.

“To anyone who has listened to this recording with concern, I am regretful and hope you will judge me not by something trotted out by a political opponent, that worked to exploit this, and backed by extreme Republican supporters on the very day that polls open, but from what I’ve delivered to Houstonians over my years of public service,” Jackson Lee said.