Rep. Nancy Mace accused her former staffers of sabotaging her tenure in Congress by hacking her phone, mismanaging funds, and destroying electronic devices. Between December 2023 and February 2024, nine staff members left her office after her vote to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Some former employees described the work environment in Mace’s office as toxic, alleging that she openly discussed her sex life with her ex-fiancé. Her former chief of staff briefly launched a primary campaign against her in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District but ended it two months later.
Mace claimed that it has been difficult to retain new staffers due to the actions of disgruntled former employees. She alleged that one former staffer hacked her devices and tracked her and her children’s whereabouts for months. Mace also claimed that thousands of dollars in bills were left unpaid, important paperwork was not filed, and nearly $1 million in budgeted money for her office was unspent. However, two former staffers denied several of Mace’s claims, stating that she failed to approve hundreds of thousands of dollars in office spending and that sharing personal calendars with staff is common practice.
Despite the denials from former staffers, Mace insisted that she experienced a massive invasion of privacy and financial mismanagement by her former team. She expressed outrage over the unspent funds that could have been used for salaries and bonuses for her staff. Mace also shared anecdotes of former staffers leaking new employee names to the media and threatening interns if they worked in her office. While the congressman alleged that her former staffers engaged in unethical behavior such as hacking her devices and signing her name on documents without permission, her ex-employees dismissed these claims as stemming from paranoia.
Mace, the first Republican woman elected to represent South Carolina in the House of Representatives, has been serving in Congress since 2021. She is up for re-election in November despite the turmoil in her office caused by staff departures and alleged sabotage. The congresswoman’s accusations against her former staffers have sparked a debate with conflicting narratives from both sides. The situation highlights the challenges of managing a Congressional office and maintaining trust and cooperation among staff members. It remains to be seen how this controversy will impact Mace’s political career and re-election campaign moving forward.
