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South Carolina’s executive branch of government – to the extent it exists – has occupied the struggle bus under status quo governor Henry McMaster.
Or is it the short bus?
Either way, modest reforms aimed at restructuring and realigning an antiquated, inefficient maze of outdated, top-heavy bureaucracies have yielded less-than-stellar results. Meanwhile, McMaster has been less-than-engaged in exercising the limited executive authority he has been entrusted with… and the handful of choices he has made have been terrible (see here and here for examples).
The Palmetto State’s underlying problem? Its government lacks a true chief executive – in theory and in practice. It also lacks an independent judicial branch. Instead it has “King Columbia” – an omnipotent General Assembly run by a handful of despotic lawyer-legislators. King Columbia makes the laws (and the appropriations) while controlling broad swaths of the executive which administers them and the judiciary which interprets them.
There are not three separate, co-equal branches of government in South Carolina – there is one branch – a legislative tyranny with the strings of its leaders perpetually pulled by crony capitalists, embedded bureaucrats, programmatic apparatchiks and entrenched special interests.
Where is the branch of government which stands for the free citizen? The small business owner? The individual taxpayer? In South Carolina, sadly, it doesn’t exist.
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My media outlet has written previously on McMaster’s decades-long refusal to rock this sinking ship – including his lengthy tenure as governor. During that time, the Palmetto State has continued to see labor participation fall, incomes lag, infrastructure priorities languish and test scores stagnate.
Aside from the bully pulpit and his veto pen (neither of which he seems inclined to use), McMaster has no real power. He could challenge lawmakers who accept King Columbia’s thirty pieces of silver to betray the public good – but he never does.
And when he appears to do so… it’s always with a wink and a nod.
McMaster has spent the last five decades telling us how “conservative” he is – but whenever he’s had a chance to install genuine conservative change agents within the executive branch, he has gone in the exact opposite direction.
Consider his recent choice of a lifelong Democrat for comptroller general, or his decision to install Edward Simmer – a disciple of discredited coronavirus authoritarian Anthony Fauci – as his health czar.
In what universe are these “conservative” choices? None.
McMaster’s latest left-of-center, status quo selection is Myra Reece. Since last November, Reece has served as the interim director of the S.C. Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) – one of the most powerful of the alphabet soup agencies which comprise the bureaucrat-regulatory complex in the Palmetto State.
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“There is no one more qualified or better positioned to lead this new agency forward,” McMaster said last November when he put Reece’s name forward to run SCDES on a permanent basis. “Her expertise, professionalism, and commitment have earned my respect, as well as that of her peers and staff. I am confident she will continue to effectively execute our state’s environmental missions and ensure our natural resources are protected.”
According to our sources, Reece’s nomination has widespread support within the S.C. Senate – which is reportedly set to take her up at the committee level sometime next week.
Should she have widespread support, though?
Not according to Rom Reddy, founder of the new DOGE SC organization.
“Myra Reece sent a memo to the General Assembly requesting that all regulations under environmental services be exempt from the administrative procedures act, meaning she wanted zero legislative oversight,” Reddy wrote on X. “She wants to use her unelected agency to unilaterally go after citizens. This is the woman now being considered to permanently lead the agency.”
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Myra Reece sent a memo to the General Assembly requesting that all regulations under Environmental Services be exempt from the Administrative Procedures Act, meaning she wanted zero legislative oversight.
— Rom Reddy (@RomReddySC) April 2, 2025
In other words, she wants to use her unelected agency to unilaterally go…
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Reddy’s group issued a statement on Thursday afternoon (April 3, 2025) slamming Reece as the leader of “an unelected agency with the power to impose extreme regulations on citizens and businesses.”
“The rich can stand up to their bullying police power,” the statement noted. “Eighty percent of the people and businesses they go after cannot.”
According to the statement, Reece is allied not just with Simmer but also the über-liberal Coastal Conservation League, an eco-radical organization based in Charleston, S.C.
“Does this feel like a Republican state whose rights should come from God?” the DOGE SC missive continued. “Absolutely not! We are reinforcing the anti-Constitution philosophy of rights coming from unelected bureaucrats like Simmer and Reece.”
While Simmer’s nomination is effectively sunk, Reece remains likely to be confirmed by the Senate barring a sudden groundswell of populist opposition to her nomination.
Reddy is hoping to build precisely such a groundswell, noting “it’s disgraceful that this is happening in a red state.”
“Any Senator who votes to confirm (Reece) is casting a major ANTI-DOGE VOTE,” Reddy noted.
Count on FITSNews to keep our audience up to speed on the latest developments in both of these high-profile confirmation battles.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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10 comments
FiretrUCK Reddy and the Musk he rode in on.
Did you want to type fuck but too skeered?
I think that the point was made without fearing censorship.
DOGE SC might be even more farcical than Ketamine Karen’s DOGE OG
There’s never been a grift that Will hasn’t been a sucker for.
Myra Reece sent a memo to the General Assembly requesting that all regulations under environmental services be exempt from the administrative procedures act, meaning she wanted zero legislative oversight,” Reddy wrote on X. “She wants to use her unelected agency to unilaterally go after citizens.
Wait what? Haha. This is literally your anthem right? Is this not exactly what is happening in Washington that you and your komrades are so happy about? I like that you are dropping any pretense of actual news and just living that propaganda life.
Regulations on businesses that fall under the purview of the SCDES are already an administrative nightmare, and treated as guilty until proven innocent. A lack of oversight from outside the agency would make righting the many and frequent mistakes made by the agency and its inspectors even more of a a nightmare than it already is.
How about we demand a regulatory stance of innocent until proven guilty, commit to easing the many needless layers of compliance paperwork, and demand that the agencies website/portal actually work properly. Not to mention its agencts be legally required to fix their mistakes on the official record in a timely manner or face criminal consequences for not doing so.
Can just anyone proclaim themselves to be a Department and get coverage on FITS? Maybe Rom Reddy could establish another organization called DES SC and just establish himself or some other partisan as the head.
Reddy says Dr. Simmer is anti-DOGE. Wtf does governmental efficiency have anything to do with the experience and qualifications of Dr. Simmer? These people are like mindless parrots just repeating slogans.
Don’t forget the far left liberal who now runs HHS. She was not questioned in committee, but instead took questions privately one-on-one. Absolutely no transparency. She’s totally unqualified to lead an agency. It’s just a matter of time before Mac & Co catch on and send her back to Florida.
Regulations are the vehicle whereby bureaucrats can run government in their image and the people being impacted are expected to just go along. Every regulation should be scrutinized for fiscal and legal impacts. Bureaucrats love regulations that they write to go through without questions. The process is not too cumbersome. The Provisos of the Budget Bill are another mechanism to bestow favors and skirt a full hearing. Open and transparent government is still a joke.