SC nearly approved ivermectin to be sold over-the-counter. How it was stopped
Even though almost every incumbent running in the primaries moved onto the general election, the sniping between the South Carolina House GOP caucus and the Freedom Caucus carried over into a new set of summer arguments.
The latest gripes between the two factions that has divided state House Republicans is over whether people would be allowed to buy ivermectin over the counter and the use of the state airplane for meetings at the White House.
A bill to allow pharmacies to sell ivermectin, a drug available to humans with a doctor’s prescription, over the counter was one roll call vote away in the House from being sent to the governor.
But a procedural move by House Majority Leader Davey Hiott to send the legislation to another committee effectively forces the bill to start over in 2027, if lawmakers want to push it.
The ivermectin bill initially passed the House in a 100-9 vote May 5, a little more than a month before the primary. It had received bipartisan support as well as support from Hiott and House Speaker Murrell Smith.
The bill passed the Senate the following week, but with an amendment that inserted the phrase “FDA-approved” and said the drug must be kept in an area accessible only to pharmacy personnel.
It returned the House and forced another vote by the chamber. So June 25, the one day the General Assembly was in session last month, Hiott made a motion to send the bill to the agriculture committee.
Hiott, in an interview, said he wanted to kick the bill back to a committee because the Federal Drug Administration has not approved Ivermectin for human consumption, and pharmacies in his district said they would not sell it over-the-counter.
“I think it’s important for the public to know why one individual, who’s not even running for reelection, thought that it was so important to satisfy his own ego intentions that he prohibits thousands of people .... who were expecting, justifiably expecting, to be able to have access to this medication over the counter from their pharmacists,” said state Rep. Jordan Pace, the chairman of the Freedom Caucus.
When Hiott made the motion, tension was high as Pace quickly tried to kill that motion, which was defeated. On the next vote to send the bill to the agriculture committee, Pace quickly demanded a roll call as Speaker Murrell Smith announced the question members would vote on.
“I hear you. Can I finish before you do that?” Smith said to Pace.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, ivermectin gained attention on social media, with conservative politicians and vaccine skeptics claiming if people took ivermectin they would not get sick. One study showed that ivermectin in large doses that humans should not be taking could kill COVID.
It gained popularity again in January 2025 after actor Mel Gibson suggested on Joe Rogan’s podcast that ivermectin can help cure cancer in its advanced stages.
Ivermectin is available for humans only with a doctor’s prescription. According to the Mayo Clinic, ivermectin is used to treat river blindness, intestinal infection from threadworms, and other kinds of worm infections.
People can buy it without it a prescription from stores such as Tractor Supply, but it’s formulated for animal use.
“It’s a relatively inexpensive generic drug that has proven to have a wide variety of uses and very little to no side effects,” Pace said.
Allowing it to be sold over the counter would allow the drug to be formulated for human use, Pace added.
Ivermectin at feed and farm supply stores is a horse dewormer paste.
“If people want to use it, go use it. I don’t have a problem with somebody using it,” Hiott said. “If they believe that that’s what they need, that’s fine, but you could buy it. Tractor Supply right now.”
State Rep. Jay Kilmartin, R-Lexington, a member of the Freedom Caucus was the lead sponsor on the bill. Freedom Caucus members alleged that Hiott killed the bill because Kilmartin helped a candidate who challenged an incumbent member who is part of the House GOP Caucus. Kilmartin’s wife donated $1,000 to John Allen’s unsuccessful primary challenge of state Rep. Chris Wooten, R-Lexington, according to state ethics commission records.
“Not gonna let the “Mean Girls” think they won in killing the Ivermectin bill the people have overwhelmingly asked for. This ain’t over,” Kilmartin posted on social media. “Because of their bloated egos, they are revealing who they are publicly.”
Hiott denied moving to kill the bill was a vindictive act against Freedom Caucus members.
“I don’t know where they got that idea,” Hiott said.
Hiott said he’s not aware of how the bill got so close to passing the General Assembly only needing one more vote before going to the governor’s desk.
It had 38 co-sponsors in the House beyond those who aligned themselves with the Freedom Caucus.
It was a bill that could have made GOP primary electorate happy, but Hiott denied killing it after the primaries was part of an electoral strategy. He denied discussing the issue with Democrats about killing the bill.
“I’ve never heard anybody campaign on I’m going to pass Ivermectin over the counter,” said Hiott, who is not running for reelection this year. “We never discussed it (ahead of) the primaries … I didn’t even really know how many people signed on to it for a long time.”
State lawmakers go to Washington, some on the state airplane
As the furor over the defeat of the Ivermectin bill died down, House GOP caucus members began to take shots at six Freedom Caucus members who used the state airplane to fly to Washington for a day’s worth of meetings at the White House.
The White House State Leadership Conference was attended by more than 35 state elected officials including House Speaker Murrell Smith, Attorney General Alan Wilson, state Sen. Mike Reichenbach, House Judiciary Chairman Weston Newton, House Ethics Committee Chairman Jay Jordan, House Rules Committee Chairman Micah Caskey, among others.
Several Freedom Caucus members attended including state Reps. Sarita Edgerton, Dianne Mitchell, Jackie Terribile, Alan Morgan and Josiah Magnuson.
Most either flew commercial or drove to Washington, D.C.
But Freedom Caucus members Kilmartin, state Rep. Jordan Pace, Stephen Frank, Chris Huff, Lee Gilreath and Thomas Beach took the state airplane. They were joined by state Rep. Jeff Bradley of Beaufort, who is not a member of the Freedom Caucus, but Hiott said Bradley reimbursed the state.
Bradley did not return phone calls from The State seeking answers to questions about the trip.
On the plane’s manifest, Frank wrote the nature of the trip was “meeting with White House Domestic policy council.”
According to the SC Aeronautics Commission, one other lawmaker asked about flying on the plane, but did not join the trip.
In order to accommodate the schedules and departure points of those going to Washington on June 29, the plane left Columbia at 3:20 p.m. and made stops in Hilton Head, Berkeley County and Greenville, before flying to Manassas, Virginia, where it was scheduled to arrive at 7:16 p.m., according to a flight manifest.
After the conference June 30, the same seven lawmakers returned to South Carolina with the state airplane making stops at the same airports.
The plane can only be used by lawmakers for official business, which does not include political functions. Official business does not include routine transportation to and from meetings of the General Assembly or committee meetings for which mileage reimbursements are allowed.
State Rep. Brandon Guffey, R-York, who has been critical of the Freedom Caucus, criticized using the state airplane to attend the White House meeting questioning if it was “fiscally responsible” by the members.
“It isn’t a conference, so legislators can’t use conference funds. They may use campaign funds for the travel but wouldn’t that mean the state plane was used for campaigning?” Guffey posted on social media.
“If it was official state business, then shouldn’t everyone’s expenses be reimbursed?” Guffey added.
Pace, R-Berkeley, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus defended the use of the plane saying it was a legitimate use. He said those flying up were in their official roles as state lawmakers. During the conference members met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullins and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
“But I think we learned a lot. I think we came away with a lot of, a lot of good information, built some good relationships with us in D.C. that directly affect the people, South Carolina and our constituents that will benefit our constituents the long run,” Pace said.
Pace, who said the lawmakers were considering avenues to reimburse the state, also pointed to use of the state airplane by other members of the General Assembly. He also pointed to trips made by state Rep. John King, D-York, to the White House during the Biden Administration, which were deemed acceptable.
Pace said the plan to reimburse the state is meant to be above reproach and to “set an example for those for the myriad of legislators over the last several years who have used the plane in various forms and fashions.”
“We believe that our voluntary reimbursement demonstrates our commitment to transparency, fiscal responsibility, and fortifying the trust of the South Carolina taxpayers,” Pace said in a statement. “We also hope that this will set a precedent for all legislators to hold themselves to the same high standard of accountability whenever taxpayer resources are involved. South Carolinians deserve leaders who are consistent in both their words and their actions.”
As Pace defended using the plane, he acknowledged the questionable optics.
“Politically, maybe not the best perception, (the) best optics, however I think that the shrill cries of the folks who were at every opportunity spending literally billions of dollars, whether it’s on Scott Motors boondoggles or petting zoos and orangutan exhibits is deeply ironic, if not infuriating,” Pace said.
