Rep. Nancy Mace blasts Speaker Mike Johnson for how he’s running the House new york times The op-ed is the latest sign of Republican dissatisfaction with the speaker.
Mace, a former moderate turned far-right now running for governor, criticized Johnson and House leadership for shutting down the legislative process and focusing it on themselves.
“Will opening the seats lead to the passage of more conservative bills or the passage of more bipartisan bills? The honest answer is: both,” she wrote.
“Some Republican priorities will finally get a vote. Common-sense, bipartisan measures will get a vote, too. The key is to do more to let voters know where their representatives stand. What we are facing now is the worst scenario in the world: virtually no accountability, transparency and results.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) blasts Mike Johnson (Getty) in an op-ed
Since entering Congress, Mace has increasingly broken with Republican leadership. She is one of eight Republicans voting to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker in 2023.
She also joined a recall petition launched by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Kana (D-Calif.) to force a vote to release documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. Johnson and Trump initially opposed it but later said they would support the vote, which passed almost unanimously.
She also joined a petition to ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks. Mace criticized Johnson, comparing her to former Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“Here’s the hard truth Republicans don’t want to hear: Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful House speaker this century,” she wrote. “I basically disagree with her. But she understands something we don’t: No majority is permanent. When Democrats have the majority, they push for the most progressive policies they can.”
Many House Republicans have criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership style (AFP via Getty Images)
Mace went on to criticize Johnson’s leadership as “restrictive and ineffective, controlling with little to no results.” She also criticized the treatment of women in the House Republican conference.
“Women will never be taken seriously unless leadership decides to take us seriously, and I’m not holding my breath anymore,” she said. “The position of Republican Conference Chair has been held by a woman since 2013. It is a token position, a designated leadership role for top women in the conference, while the real power lies in other offices.”
Mace’s complaints echoed those of other Republicans in the conference. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a right-wing firebrand who has clashed with Mace, announced she would resign from Congress in early January. Additionally, Rep. Elise Stefanik criticized Johnson for not including the amendments she wanted into the must-pass legislation.
As a result, members of Congress have largely resorted to using removal petitions — which require lawmakers to get 218 signatures to force a vote in the House and bypass leadership — to pass the legislation they want.
But Mace complained that it didn’t solve the larger problem.
“We can do better,” she wrote. “We can restore normalcy, empower members to legislate and deliver on our promises. But it will require a fundamental shift that puts courage over control. Let us vote. Let the people see it. Let the chips fall. This is democracy.”
