At the memorial for the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Vice President Harris appeared to get her title wrong and slipped up during her eulogy for Jackson Lee.
While Harris honored Jackson for his efforts to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, she inadvertently bestowed herself a new title.
“It was Sheila Jackson Lee who introduced the bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. I am proud to co-sponsor this bill as a United States Senator. And as the President and the Vice President…” Harris said, before quickly correcting herself.
“It was an honor to stand alongside President Joe Biden as Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee signed the bill into law,” Harris continued.
Kamala Harris attends funeral for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in Texas
Vice President Harris accidentally referred to herself as “President” on Thursday while speaking at the memorial for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. (Alison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images)
Jackson Lee passed away on July 19 at the age of 74. Pancreatic cancer. She is survived by her husband, Erwin Lee, and her two children, Jason and Erica.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 and fought the disease until the following year when she announced she was cured.
Following her death, Vice President Harris said Lee “was a tenacious advocate for justice and fought tirelessly for the people of Houston and the American people. She also remembered her as a “longtime close friend and fellow member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.”
“As a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, I had the opportunity to work closely with her on many issues and observe her leadership firsthand. She was relentless and one of our nation’s most passionate, smartest and most strategic leaders in her thinking about how to achieve progress,” Harris said in a statement on July 20. “I never had a run-of-the-mill conversation with this congresswoman. She was always fighting for the people of Houston and the American people.”
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee dies after battle with pancreatic cancer
President Biden posed for a selfie with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee after delivering the State of the Union address on February 7, 2023. (Jacqueline Martin-Poole/Getty Images)
Harris said she spoke with Jackson Lee just days before her death and thanked her for the impact she had on her career.
“A few days before she passed away, I called her to express my deepest gratitude to her for all that she had done and what a huge impact she had had on me and my life. To know Sheila was to know how tough she was. Oh, she was such a loving person, such an encouraging person and she always encouraged me,” Harris said at the funeral.
Harris went into more detail about Jackson Lee’s tough love, saying there were times when he wanted to hide from her.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee announces she’s been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
Sheila Jackson Lee (John Lamparski/Getty Images for TriBeCa Festival/File)
“There were certainly times when I would see her walking down the hallway and want to hide because I knew what else I had in mind. Sheila Jackson Lee wanted to have a very serious and specific conversation with you about what she had in mind, and then she would tell you exactly what she wanted you to do to make it happen,” Harris said.
Harris continued to praise Jackson Lee, noting his “unwavering belief that each of us has the power to change our country for the better.”
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“Sheila Jackson Lee was a change-maker. She worked with all her heart and soul to uplift the people of her city, her state and this country. In honor of her memory, let us keep fighting to realize the promise of America — the promise of freedom, opportunity and justice for all, not just a few,” Harris said.
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
