GOP lawmaker scraps with Democrat in hearing over transgender 'slur,' bathroom rights: 'Not going to have it'

"USAID awarded $2 million to strengthen trans-led organizations to deliver gender-affirming health care in Guatemala," Mace said. "So to each of you this morning, does this advance the interests of American citizens paying for trannies in Guatemala to the tune of $2 million, yes or no?"

"Let me please finish without interruption," Connolly said, before Mace cut him off and repeated the term several more times. 

"Tranny, tranny, tranny, I don't really care, you want penises and women's bathrooms, and I'm not going to have it OK, no, thank you - it's disgusting," Mace barked back.

"To me, a slur is a slur, and here on the committee, a level of decorum requires us to try consciously to avoid slurs. You just heard the gentle lady actually actively, robustly repeated it," Connolly said. "And I would just ask the chairman that she be counseled that we ought not to be engaged. We can have debate and policy discussion without offending human beings who are our fellow citizens. And so I would ask as a parliamentary inquiry whether the use of that phrase is not, in fact, a violation of the decorum rules."

With a slight smirk, Comer said, "I'll be honest with the ranking member - I'm not up-to-date on my politically correct LGBTQ terminology."

"We'll look into that and get back with you on that. I don't know what's offensive and what's not. I don't know much about pronouns," he said. 

The hearing, which was about government efficiency and called "Rightsizing Government," began Wednesday morning and included as witnesses Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Citizens Against Government Waste president Thomas A. Schatz. 

Musk has led the charge against USAID - an independent U.S. agency established during the Kennedy administration to administer economic aid to foreign nations - as he leads DOGE's mission of cutting government fat and overspending at the federal level. 

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report.