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by WILL FOLKS
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While most of the media coverage this week has focused on the bold pronouncements of various candidates for governor of South Carolina, the constitutionally neutered office they are seeking has been coming under relentless attack by the S.C. Senate.
We’ve written extensively on this ongoing legislative coup, which is being led by S.C. Senate majority leader Shane Massey. Not content with the far-reaching parameters of the Palmetto State’s existing legislative tyranny, senators have escalated their chronic meddling in the already anemic executive branch of government – hoping to limit the ability of future governors to make appointments within their own branch of government.
For those of you unfamiliar with how government “works” in South Carolina, lawmakers directly control the judicial branch of government via their corrupt and incestuous method of picking judges and justices – something FITSNews has been calling out for years. But lawmakers also wield expansive control over the executive branch via a byzantine maze of legislatively controlled boards and commissions – and by a budget process that effectively manages administrative functions via puppeteered appropriations.
Also, multiple executive positions that are appointed offices in other states are independently elected in South Carolina – further diluting the power of the governor.
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Add it all up and a backbench senator has more real power in Columbia than the governor.
At the root of all this? Nineteenth century prejudices…
“The initial objective of all this – part and parcel to the Constitution of 1895 – was to ensure that if a black person were ever elected governor of South Carolina (which hasn’t happened yet), they would hold no real power,” I noted recently. “The current objective is the maintenance of a splintered system that provides limitless opportunities for patronage while preventing anything resembling accountability at the ballot box.”
Now, senators are drawing a bead on gubernatorial appointment power – specifically the ability of governors to make recess appointments (or temporary executive appointments made while lawmakers are not in session). The S.C. supreme court has ruled governors are within their rights to make such appointments, but Massey and his allies are trying to strip them of that authority via a new bill (S. 922).
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RELATED | ‘NEVER TRUMP’ SENATORS PLOTTING S.C. ELECTION COUP
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They are also attempting to extend senatorial control over the ostensibly independent S.C. Election Commission (SCVotes), a coup-in-progress we have covered in great detail.
This legislation was recently amended at the last minute to remove status quo governor Henry McMaster‘s nomination of über-liberal Dr. Edward Simmer to lead the S.C. Department of Public Health (SCDPH). Simmer’s nomination was previously rejected by the Senate, but he has continued to serve as an interim director of the agency because McMaster hasn’t nominated anyone to replace him.
Per the version of S. 922 that cleared the Senate this week, Simmer would be removed from office on May 14, 2026.
While we support the removal of Simmer from office, when it comes to this broader bill Massey and his fellow senators are treading into dangerous waters as it relates to the constitutional separation of powers.
Also, they appear to have celebrated their success at further emasculating the executive branch a bit too soon…
After a unanimous 40–0 vote to advance this legislation, senators (including scandal-scarred Matt Leber) were touting their big win.
“I have fought for this since COVID!” Leber wrote on X.
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The Senate voted today that Dr Simmer (Fauci SC) must vacate his office by 14 May and can not be reappointed. I have fought for this since COVID! pic.twitter.com/EVOhsSME9m
— Senator Matt Leber (@voteleber) March 17, 2026
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But while Leber and others were busy spiking the ball, Democrat senator Jeff Graham of Camden, S.C. quietly contested the passage of this bill – a procedural move which forces the chamber to wait six legislative days before attempting to move it off of a contested calendar.
That means the bill is stalled until at least March 31, 2026.
Senators likely have enough votes to advance Massey’s bill to the S.C. House of Representatives, but the political capital required to move it has increased significantly. Why? Well, many senators are reticent to challenge colleagues when they block bills – because they want to preserve their ability to block legislation they don’t like, too.
If they go on record opposing a colleague’s challenge, that means they can no longer count on that senator to support them when they challenge a bill. In fact, many senators are automatic “no” votes when it comes to removing bills from the contested calendar for this very reason.
Also, some senators could be leery of making new enemies over a bill that is likely dead on arrival in the S.C. House, a chamber which has little appetite for approving such a broad expansion of senatorial power.
We’ll keep close tabs on the status of this bill… but we’ll also wait to see if any of the candidates for governor wake up and realize the office they are seeking is being continually eroded even as they are making ever-bolder claims on the campaign trail.
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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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