Former Trump White House chief of staff endorses Nancy Mace in heated SC GOP primary
Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney endorsed South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace on Monday, becoming the second high-profile member of the Trump administration to line up behind the first-term lawmaker rather than Donald Trump’s preferred candidate.
Mulvaney’s endorsement of Mace follows a similar announcement made two weeks ago by Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who served as Trump’s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
But Mulvaney’s endorsement in the GOP primary contest also illustrates how Mace will have to turn to other influencers in the Republican Party to build enthusiasm among conservative voters after her public fallout with Trump.
In a statement, which was shared by Mace’s campaign, Mulvaney called Mace “a proven fiscally conservative leader for South Carolina and the Lowcountry.”
“Getting things done in Washington isn’t easy and it doesn’t have to be a nasty business — especially when Members of Congress put their constituents’ needs before partisan politics,” he said, pointing to the more than 1,000 constituent meetings Mace has held.
“Her voting record is exceptional when it comes to promoting smaller government and lower taxes. And refreshingly, actually she works overtime to get things done in Congress. I support her 100 percent,” said Mulvaney, a former South Carolina congressman and a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, a group of fiscal hardliners known for their rabble-rousing and for standing up to Republican leadership.
In addition to being acting White House chief of staff for just over 14 months, Mulvaney held various political posts during the entirety of the Trump administration, including acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and director of the Office of Management and Budget.
His last role was a diplomatic one, where he worked as the Trump administration’s special envoy to North Ireland.
After the endorsement, Mace welcomed Mulvaney’s support in a statement.
“He knows how difficult it is to flip a seat and then keep it,” Mace said, referring to Mulvaney’s 2010 congressional race in South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District, where he defeated a Democrat incumbent. “Mick understands putting your constituents first sometimes means bucking the party line and that principles matter. Mick has stood up time and time again to do the right thing, he’s a great example of what conservative leadership looks like in South Carolina.”
In the intensifying GOP primary unfolding around Charleston in South Carolina’s coastal 1st Congressional District, Mace faces at least three Republican challengers.
But her chief rival in the primary fight is Katie Arrington, a former state lawmaker who most recently worked for the Department of Defense. Trump endorsed Arrington one day after she announced her candidacy.
Arrington famously unseated U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford in a 2018 GOP primary after she made loyalty to Trump the centerpiece of her campaign. She went on to lose to Democrat Joe Cunningham in the general election, marking the first time in nearly 40 years that the seat slipped out of Republican control.
With her entrance in the 2022 race for congress two weeks ago, Arrington is once again pitching herself to voters as a staunch supporter of Trump. She has also characterized Mace as a disloyal Republican.
In the immediate aftermath of the deadly Jan. 6 attack last year on the U.S. Capitol, Mace drew the ire of the former president and some Republicans after she became one of Trump’s most vocal and prolific critics within the Republican Party.
Like Mace, Mulvaney was also vocal about his displeasure with the president following the events of Jan. 6. After the riot, Mulvaney resigned from his diplomatic post as special envoy to Northern Ireland.
“I can’t stay here. Not after yesterday,” Mulvaney said on CNBC at the time. “You can’t look at that yesterday, and think I want to be a part of that in any way, shape or form.”
Mulvaney is now leading a new high-profile lobbying firm in Washington, according to recent reporting from Politico.
Mulvaney’s endorsement marks the third high-profile endorsement in the Republican congressional primary so far, and is the second major endorsement for Mace.
Haley, the former governor and a 1st District voter who lives on Kiawah Island, called Mace “the conservative voice the Lowcountry needs in Washington” when she endorsed the congresswoman on Feb. 7.
One day after Arrington announced her plans to challenge Mace, Trump endorsed Arrington on Feb. 9, calling her “a true Republican” in a statement issued through his political action committee.
In that same statement, Trump called Mace “an absolutely terrible candidate” whose “remarks and attitude have been devastating for her community, and not at all representative of the Republican Party to which she has been very disloyal.”
Arrington has also falsely claimed Trump won the 2020 presidential election, a message that the former president has made a litmus test in which candidates earn his support in the 2022 election cycle.
This story was originally published February 21, 2022 at 10:39 AM.
