Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee, referred to Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., as 'Mr. McBride,' sparking pushback from Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass. (House Foreign Affairs Committee Republicans)

Chaos erupted in Congress on Tuesday, when a Republican "misgendered" a fellow House member. But maybe it was really just a case of a politician doing the unthinkable: telling the truth.

Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Europe Subcommittee, referred to trans Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., as "Mr. McBride," causing a heated exchange that brought the hearing to a crashing halt. Ranking Democrat Bill Keating, of Massachusetts, rode to McBride's rescue.

"Mr. Chairman, you are out of order!" Keating thundered. "Mr. Chairman, have you no decency?" he harumphed, channeling the well-worn phrase from the 1950s McCarthy hearings. "This is not decent."

GOP LAWMAKER CALLS TRANS DEM ‘MR. MCBRIDE,’ ABRUPTLY ENDS HEARING AFTER ULTIMATUM

Now, we all understand that if we meet a trans person at a party or a ballgame, we can work around the pronouns and not be a jerk about it. But a congressional hearing is not a private event, it is the official public speech of our government. It........

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