Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, misinformed a group of high school students in Houston that the moon is a “planet” that is “made up mostly of gases.”
Jackson Lee, who once led the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee, made several false statements that stunned a crowd of teenagers at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston during Monday’s solar eclipse.
“You’ve heard the word ‘full moon,’” Jackson Lee told the students who were with her on a sports field before the eclipse. “Sometimes, you need to take the opportunity just to come out and see a full moon is that complete-rounded circle, which is made up mostly of gases. And that’s why the question is why or how could we as humans live on the moon? Are the gases such that we could do that?”
The congressional representative continued, saying, “The sun is a mighty powerful heat, but it’s almost impossible to go near the sun. The moon is more manageable.”
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Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee told a group of Houston high school students the Moon was a planet and made up of gases. (Sheila Jackson Lee X)
Jackson Lee continued making several statements that were questionable. In one statement, she told students the moon not only reflects the sun’s light but also emits “unique light and energy.”
“You have the energy of the moon at night,” Jackson Lee said.
In another statement, she misstated how solar eclipses happen.
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“What you will see today, will be the closest distance that the moon has ever been in the last 20 years, which means that’s why they will shut the light down, because they will be close to the earth, which is an amazing experience,” Jackson Lee said in a live video clip posted to her X account. “You will be able to tell because there will be complete darkness.”
In the video, Jackson Lee tells students not to look at the sun directly, warning them that the eclipse was a serious matter and looking into the sun directly could mean students not being able to leave on their own, but instead, will be walked out while holding their arm.
In the clip, Jackson Lee is seen struggling to put the eclipse glasses on her face as students moved toward the sports field to watch the celestial event.
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The total solar eclipse Monday August 21, 2017, in Madras, Oregon. (ROB KERR/AFP via Getty Images)
She also spoke about being able to live and survive on the moon.
“I don’t know about you, I want to be first in line to know how to live and to be able to survive on the moon,” Jackson Lee added. “That’s another planet which we’re going to see shortly.”
On Tuesday, Jackson Lee turned to X to clear up statements she made to students after RNC Research shared a video clip of her misinforming students.
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“Obviously, I misspoke and meant to say the sun, but as usual, Republicans are focused on stupid things instead of stuff that really matters,” she said. “What can I say though, foolish thinkers lust for stupidity.”
Jackson Lee continued and said Republicans should focus on prenatal care, affordable housing and reduction of student loan debt.
“Also, I care more about these children who would not have experienced the eclipse in this enthusiastic manner,” she added. “And I care more about protecting the rights of women and children than engaging in this kind of senseless dialogue.
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Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said on X that impeachment is not meant to be used as a tool for revenge, drawing harsh criticism from those who say Democrats used impeachment as revenge against former President Trump. (US Congress)
This is not the first time Jackson Lee has made questionable statements regarding science, let alone turned the misstep into a political issue.
In 1997, Jackson Lee visited NASA and demanded to see the flag that astronauts planted on Mars. She was gently advised that no human being had ever been to Mars because it was so far away.
She then went into a rage and accused the space agency of racism before pointing out her membership on the House science committee.
Jackson Lee also claimed during a floor speech in March 2014 that the U.S. Constitution was 400 years old.
While speaking in opposition to a Republican-backed proposal, she gave a brief history lesson. During the lesson, she thanked the GOP for “giving us an opportunity to have a deliberative constitutional discussion that reinforces the sanctity of this nation and how well it is that we have lasted some 400 years operating under a Constitution that clearly defines what is constitutional and what is not.”
Jackson Lee was off by nearly 200 years old, as the Constitution was adopted in 1787.
Jackson Lee also has a history of being criticized as one of the “meanest” members of Congress to work for.
In a 2011 Daily Caller report, several former staff members accused Jackson Lee of using demeaning language and name-calling when addressing them.
“You stupid motherf—-r,” one former employee said Jackson Lee “constantly” called him, while another described an occasion her parents were visiting from out of town and overheard Jackson Lee call her a “stupid idiot” because of a scheduling change. “Don’t be a moron, you foolish girl,” the former aide alleged Jackson Lee told her.
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Others said she often forced them to work long hours, even into the early hours of the morning, and that she demanded to be driven by staff everywhere she went, regardless of how short the distance.
Brandon Gillespie of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.