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Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina sharply criticized House Republican leaders on Monday, arguing in a New York Times op-ed that the party’s internal dysfunction has rendered Congress ineffective and risks costing the GOP its majority.
Mace, a two-term Republican who has frequently broken with her party’s leadership, wrote that GOP control of the House has been marked by “restrictive and ineffective” management that leaves most lawmakers sidelined and major priorities stalled.
“Here’s a hard truth Republicans don’t want to hear: Nancy Pelosi was a more effective House speaker than any Republican this century,” Mace wrote, adding that she shares “essentially nothing” politically with the former Democratic leader but acknowledging Pelosi’s command of her caucus. “She understood something we don’t: No majority is permanent.”
Mace, 48, was first elected in 2020 and has become one of the conference’s most visible firebrands, drawing attention for confrontational committee appearances, hard-line stances on cultural issues and recent efforts to force action on the release of federal records related to Jeffrey Epstein. In August, she announced a run for governor of South Carolina.
In her op-ed, Mace said she entered Congress convinced she could “make a difference” for her state and the country but that she has found a system in which party leaders tightly control legislative activity.
“No one can be held responsible for inaction, so far too little gets done,” she wrote. “The obstacles to achieving almost anything are enough to make any member who came to Washington with noble intentions ask: Why am I even here?”
Mace warned that Republicans, who currently control the House and the White House, risk losing power if they fail to deliver on promises involving border security, inflation, health care and crime. “And we will deserve it,” she added.
Her criticisms come as other GOP women have aired concerns about leadership decisions. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York publicly split with Speaker Mike Johnson last week over a provision in the annual defense bill. Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia announced last month that she will resign from Congress in early 2025, citing dissatisfaction with the party and her break with former President Donald Trump.
Mace said Johnson “is better than his predecessor,” former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whom she voted to remove in 2023. But she argued that rank-and-file members — and especially women — remain marginalized.
“Women will never be taken seriously until leadership decides to take us seriously, and I’m no longer holding my breath,” she wrote.
Despite her criticism, Mace said Republicans can “do better” by restoring regular order, allowing members to advance legislation and making internal debates public. “Let us vote. Let the people see. Let the chips fall. That’s democracy,” she said.
