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by WILL FOLKS
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The United States House of Representatives’ Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) voted unanimously this week that lawmakers should “further review” allegations leveled against South Carolina congresswoman and 2026 gubernatorial candidate Nancy Mace.
Specifically, the OCC concluded “there is substantial reason to believe that (Mace) engaged in improper reimbursement practices” by seeking reimbursements which “exceeded her reimbursable expenses.”
“If Mace engaged in improper reimbursement practices, then she may have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law,” the OCC noted in its report (.pdf).
The news comes just six weeks after the House ethics committee announced it had extended its review of a referral for an investigation of Mace – and would announce its next steps on or before March 2, 2026.
That deadline fell today…
According to the report, the inquiry into Mace began on May 21, 2025 – with Mace receiving notification two days later. The investigation appears to revolve around a reimbursement program for “lodging expenses” in Washington, D.C. which Mace is accused of habitually violating.
“Rep. Mace received reimbursements in 2023 and 2024 for lodging expenses – but the amounts reimbursed do not appear to reflect (her) actual, incurred lodging expenses,” the report found.
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On her trips to the capital, Mace stayed at a home she owned with her former fiancé – Charleston entrepreneur Patrick Bryant. Per the terms of a congressional reimbursement program adopted in April 2023, she was permitted to seek “reimbursement for certain costs associated with the (home) and its upkeep.”
These costs “could not exceed the total housing expenses incurred in that month,” however.
Did they?
According to the report, Mace “requested and received the maximum allowable reimbursement for each month she filed a reimbursement request form,” however information provided to the OCC suggested she “was reimbursed more than the true costs for the property during several months in 2023 and 2024.”
The OCC reviewed “invoices and other documents” related to Mace’s Washington D.C. property, including “utility bills and escrow accounts for property taxes and insurance related to the property.” During this review, it identified “discrepancies between the amounts requested and received by Mace for reimbursements and the total of these associated bills.”
Mace declined to provide documentation related to the expenses for which she sought reimbursement, and may not have made – or contributed to – any of the payments.
Who did apparently provide documentation? Her fiancé…
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RELATED | NANCY MACE ORIGIN STORY HEADLINES POLITICO
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“Although Mace may have reimbursed her former fiancé or made payments to the bank account associated with the property for its expenses, she did not provide the OCC with documentation of such payments,” the report noted. “To the contrary, the OCC reviewed correspondence between Mace and her former fiancé’s accountant suggesting that while she had received reimbursement from the House for her lodging expenses, as of October 5, 2023, she had not contributed the funds to the bank account associated with the property.”
“This correspondence suggests that Mace received reimbursement for expenses for which she had not yet made any payment,” the report noted.
In other words, not only did Mace allegedly receive reimbursements exceeding the actual costs on the property she co-owned with her former fiancé, the report suggested the alleged impropriety could carry a steeper price tag if Mace received reimbursements for expenses she never made.
“If Mace did not pay for 100% of expenses related to the property — a determination the OCC could neither reach nor reject due to the congresswoman’s lack of cooperation — this would increase the disparity between the amounts Mace was reimbursed and her actual expenses incurred,” the report concluded.
Because Mace and three former staffers – Dan Hanlon, Lorie Khatod and Richard Chalkey – refused to cooperate with the investigation, the OCC report recommended the ethics committee issue subpoenas to all three of them.
Mace pushed back at the allegations, claiming she was being targeted in the aftermath of her participation in the depositions of former president Bill Clinton and former senator/secretary of state Hillary Clinton last week.
“When you fight the swamp, the swamp fights back,” she wrote on X. “It’s no coincidence that in the same hour the tapes of me deposing the Clintons come out, I’m slapped with a story about a BS Ethics Investigation. The American People are smarter than that.”
Mace also claimed the lead investigator against her was a “Muslim” who reportedly “assaulted multiple women.”
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we track the latest developments in this investigation…
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THE REPORT…
(U.S. House of Representatives)
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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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12 comments
Waste, fraud and abuse? Someone call Elon!
Cost of living expenses being what they are in Washington, a single woman still ought to be able to make it there on $174,000 a year plus benefits, without having to fudge expense accounts.
This chick needs a psych workup.
Amen, bro!
What’s Wrong GUYS?? You Afraid she Might Expose the Corruption Going On In SC and Washington?? Hopefully She Exposes ALL of your Sorry Behinds!!
Nancy Mace needs to stop with the victim complex. She’s a congresswoman, but claims she didn’t know what was going on with the over-reimbursement because her “fiance” was in control of the finances? That is dumb and helpless. Wah, wah, wah.
Stop embarrassing women, Nancy. We don’t need you giving our gender a bad name.
CHUCK SCHUMER ETHICS PROBE TO START. POSSIBLE INDICTMENTS TO FOLLOW.
WILSON TO BE AUDITED. POSSIBLE TAX FRAUD?
These allegations started in May not recently.According to the report, the inquiry into Mace began on May 21, 2025 – with Mace receiving notification two days later. You’re not a hero Nancy. It’s not because you deposed the Clinton’s this week. Lies, Lies and anything for attention. You are an embarrassment not some fierce baddie you like to portray. Nasty picture of you standing there with a cigerette. Gross
Yes! Let’s count the possible sources: You roasted your ex fiancée in open session, you roasted yourself by talking about your sex life at a prayer breakfast, you roasted your opponent in the governor’s race, oh, oh let’s not forget the TSA and aeronautics people you roasted. Gosh…how many others?. Don’t fire shots if you aren’t prepared for return fire. Text book narcissistic personality disorder.
TOTAL BS! This is Joe Wilson using his position in Congress to help his son Alan run for Governor against Mace. Like her or not, these kinds of political attacks are disgusting.
Bill’s observation makes sense.
They could probe as far as the bottom of the Mariana Trench and still not find Nancy’s ethics.