What We Know About Rep. Nancy Mace And Her Many Controversies

Although Congresswoman Nancy Mace has only been a representative for South Carolina since 2021, she's already made a name for herself as a contentious politician, with many of her worst moves distinguishing themselves among the cringe-worthy ranks of Lauren Boebert's controversies and Elon Musk's messy feuds. Mace isn't afraid to bluntly state what is on her mind, no matter the consequences or backlash she may receive. In the last two years, she attacked the rights of transgender people, revealed inappropriate details about her sex life with colleagues, became a celebrity martyr for her cause, lied about supporting civil rights, and allegedly misused taxpayer money.

Of course, there's bound to be controversy with political figures, but the mother of two teenagers has managed to upset both Democrats and fellow Republicans with her questionable behavior. Posting the tagline "always lowcountry first" on her official government page rings hollow for many people who feel like the congresswoman actually puts herself and her agenda first instead.

Sarah McBride, the first transgender state senator, will serve the House of Representatives beginning in 2025, which means she and Nancy Mace are going to be co-workers, with access to the same bathrooms. Mace is not on board with that idea and is on a crusade to ban transgender women from using female bathrooms in the U.S. Capitol (via NBC News).

When Mace was asked if this proposed bill was directed at McBride, she happily confirmed it in November 2024, telling reporters, "I'm absolutely 100% gonna stand in the way of any man who wants to be in a women's restroom, in our locker rooms, in our changing rooms. I will be there fighting you every step of the way." But Mace isn't stopping her bathroom bill at the Capitol. She is also working to get it enacted in federal buildings, as well as government-funded schools.

McBride posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, a terse response about Mace's agenda: "Every day Americans go to work with people who have life journeys different than their own and engage with them respectfully, I hope members of Congress can muster that same kindness."

Elected officials should hold themselves to the highest standard and maintain a sense of respect and decorum, but Nancy Mace did the complete opposite in July 2023. During a prayer breakfast for GOP presidential candidate Tim Scott, Mace thought discussing her sex life with then-fiancé Patrick Bryant was an appropriate topic of conversation.

"When I woke up this morning at seven, I was getting picked up at 7:45. Patrick, my fiancé, tried to pull me by my waist over this morning in bed and I was like, 'No, baby, we don't got time for that this morning. I got to get to the prayer breakfast and I got to be on time,'" she said to a roomful of uncomfortable Christians (via New York Post). After joking how that was probably an overshare, she did it again by explaining that she and Bryant would be able to get it on that evening instead.

Mace's detailing of her sex life didn't stop at the prayer breakfast. In December 2023, three sources told the Daily Mail that Mace had allegedly shared her private, intimate moments at work. "She frequently made sexual references in the office and discussed things that were not appropriate in a work environment," a former senior staff member told the outlet. At the time, Mace had lost six members of her team, three she fired and three who reportedly left. All this happened in only a few months' time.

In October 2023, Nancy Mace made headlines for wearing a giant A on her shirt in a clear nod to Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel, "The Scarlet Letter," about a woman who is ostracized and forced to wear a scarlet letter A because she committed adultery. Mace was the only woman out of eight people who voted to oust fellow republican Kevin McCarthy after he allegedly went back on certain things he promised, including contraception access (via The Guardian).

"I'm wearing the scarlet letter after the week I just had, being a woman up here, and being demonized for my vote and for my voice," Mace said to reporters. "I will do the right thing every single time, no matter the consequences." Her staff obviously didn't get the memo about her scarlet letter stunt, because one person originally thought she was wearing an Abercrombie & Fitch shirt, until they saw her press conference (via Slate).

Another employee said the shirt choice was a way to keep her at the forefront of people's minds. "She wanted every single person to think — when they thought of the McCarthy ouster vote, not to think of the eight, but to think of Nancy Mace."

Nancy Mace found herself caught in a lie in June 2024 after she omitted an important detail about her position on civil rights. She said on CNN, "I work on a lot of civil rights issues. I was the ranking member of the civil rights subcommittee last session on oversight. Due process is a really important issue." While that sounds fine and dandy on paper, the reason Mace isn't still the ranking member is because she was the leader in charge of dissolving it (via The New Republic).

The clip of her interview was posted on X, and people had some serious feelings about Mace's comments. One person shared a GIF of someone saying, "These don't really go together," and captioned their tweet, "Civil rights and Nancy Mace ... " Another person warned, "As they say, don't listen to what they say, WATCH what they DO!" A third comment joked how Mace should've worn her scarlet letter A during the interview.

In June 2024, The Washington Post reported that Nancy Mace expensed an average of over $2,000 per month in 2023. She co-owns a $1.6 million townhouse with ex-fiancé Patrick Bryant. Her lodging expenses for a fourth of the year were over $9,000, and one month alone was over $4,000. Mace isn't permitted to request that taxpayers foot her mortgage bills, but it appeared that that's what may have happened, according to both The Washington Post and Punchbowl News.

Sources told The Washington Post that Mace allegedly had her team get the most reimbursement they could, despite whatever her actual expenses cost. Mace denied any wrongdoing and didn't disclose a detailed report of her spending. Catherine Templeton, a fellow republican, claimed Mace was a thief. "If we're wrong, she should show us the receipts. If we're right, she should resign from Congress for conduct unbecoming a Congressman" (via Live 5 News).