According to the Houston Press and The Hill, Jackson Lee has also reportedly been involved in several altercations with airline flight personnel over her requests for a complimentary upgrade to first class based on her celebrity. [4] The Press reports one altercation, which Jackson Lee later denied, she loudly derided a staffer over her travel arrangements:
"You don't understand. I am a queen, and I demand to be treated like a queen"
Another altercation onboard an airplane was reported by The Hill. During a full flight on Continental Airlines Jackson Lee was denied a complimentary upgrade to first class. According to a witness interviewed by the Capitol Hill newpaper, "When she saw that she had to sit with other people, she started shouting that she was in Congress and worked hard. She was really loud. Everybody in the plane could hear." Later in the flight she is reported to have had a "friendly visit" with the displaced passengers. [5]
The Press further reports that Jackson Lee has a reputation on capitol hill as a "high-maintenance" employer and has exhibited one of the largest staff turnover rates for years [6]. Several former employees have cited her demeanor and incidents such as the travel arrangement altercations as a major reason why so many staffers leave her office. The Houston Chronicle reported that one staffer even quit after she threw a cell phone at him.[7]
Adding to her reputation as an elitist, she was criticized after an investigative reporter from the conservative magazine the Weekly Standard photographed her using a chauffeur to travel the distance of approximately one block from her congressional office to the U.S. Capitol Building entrance. The Capitol Hill magazine Roll Call reported a couple weeks later that Jackson Lee was seen pressuring her driver to tailgate Congressman John Dingell (D-MI) through a security checkpoint.[8] Source: Wikipedia: Sheila Jackson-Lee
Sheesh! ;-)
She, like so many on the Hill, think they're royalty.