South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace pushes back on allegations she profited from House reimbursement program

Joseph Bustos, The State on Mar 3, 2026

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U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor in South Carolina, is criticizing an investigation that accused her of profiting from a program meant for helping federal lawmakers offset living expenses.

The House Ethics Committee voted 6-0 to further review allegations against Mace for allegedly engaging in improper reimbursement practices.

“There is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Mace engaged in improper reimbursement practices,” the Office of Congressional Conduct said in a report.

Mace criticized the investigation, saying the initial complaint came from her ex-fiance, who is disgruntled with her.

House members are allowed to be reimbursed for ordinary and necessary travel expenses — including lodging, meals, and incidentals — when on official business in Washington, D.C. House rules allow members to be reimbursed for “utilities, condo, cooperative or HOA fees, insurance and taxes attributable to ordinary and necessary business travel, but cannot exceed the total housing costs in a month.”

In 2023 and 2024, Mace was reimbursed nearly $9,500 more than she should have been, according to the OCC.

Mace owned a home with her then-fiancé Patrick Bryant, who she has since accused of having nonconsensual photos and videos of women and underage girls undressed, and a video of the rape of an unconscious woman.

The utilities for the home were in Bryant’s name. Mace made payments to an account associated to the Washington property, but the OCC was unable to determine if they were for other properties or the Washington property.

“Although Rep. Mace may have reimbursed her former fiancé or made payments to the bank account associated with the DC Property for its expenses, she did not provide the OCC with documentation of such payments,” the report said.

Bryant’s accountant told investigators that Mace was entitled to up to $2,462.94 a month, but she exceeded that amount in 12 months between Jan. 2023 and May 2024.

“Based on the information available to the OCC, it appears Rep. Mace was reimbursed amounts exceeding the actual costs incurred for the DC Property during several months in 2023 and 2024,” the OCC report says. “Further, if Rep. Mace did not pay for 100% of expenses related to the DC 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 Rep. Mace was reimbursed and her actual expenses incurred.”

The report details how Mace and her then chief of staff discussed reimbursement for living costs.

“So when I first started filling out these forms, the congresswoman and the chief of staff would always talk about how it doesn’t even come close to covering her living costs. And so when they checked over, I made sure that they never went over her current living costs. So the max out was, according to them, accurate,” one witness told investigators.

“The evidence discussed above suggests Rep. Mace did not take appropriate measures to ensure she sought reimbursement for expenses actually incurred,” the report says.

Mace on social media Monday dismissed the accusations casting doubt on the man who handled the initial review.

“I provided exculpatory evidence to the OCC. He ignored it. The document at the heart of their investigation? He and the OCC admitted was never verified,” Mace said.

In December, Tom Rust, an attorney for Mace, said Bryant was trying to discredit the congresswoman.

“The referral report’s narrative appears to incorporate unverified assertions and materials that may have originated from, or been influenced by, Rep. Mace’s former fiancé, Brendan Patrick Bryant,” Rust said. “The OCC was informed of Bryant’s relationship with the Congresswoman and his documented history of abusive and retaliatory conduct toward her. Counsel repeatedly raised these credibility concerns and requested transparency regarding the sources of information the OCC relied upon and which the OCC never provided.”

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