Who had McMaster’s ear during Florence? Records of governor’s calls released

Gov. Henry McMaster had a busy week before Hurricane Florence landed in South Carolina.

Between Friday, Sept. 7 — a full week before the hurricane made landfall — and Sunday, Sept. 16, McMaster made 148 phone calls with legislators, utility executives, various members of the Trump administration and six other governors.

According to the governor’s public schedule, a “hurricane preparedness call” was added to McMaster’s standard itinerary — of policy meetings and public appearances — a week before forecasters projected Hurricane Florence would hit the Carolinas coast. McMaster kept up the daily call with state and local agencies as the storm approached and hit.

The daily preparedness calls grew to three on Monday, Sept. 10, and two on Tuesday, Sept. 11. McMaster’s calls also expanded to include leaders of coastal communities, state lawmakers, members of the state’s congressional delegation and other S.C. constitutional officers.

On Sunday, Sept. 9, the governor made no fewer than 19 calls, all but three between 2:47 and 3:34 p.m. Those included calls with 13 legislators from coastal districts; the mayors of Charleston, Mount Pleasant and North Myrtle Beach; and three separate calls with Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune, right in Florence’s path at the time.

On Monday, Sept. 10, McMaster spent more time on the phone, talking to the governors of North Carolina, Georgia and Florida as well as President Donald Trump and FEMA administrator Brock Long, and U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott of South Carolina. The Republican governor also spoke to U.S. Rep. Tim Rice, R-Myrtle Beach, whose district was projected to be the hardest hit, and S.C. House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington.

The next day, McMaster and his fellow governors had a joint call with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. He also had separate calls with the governors of Mississippi and Florida, the U.S. secretary of health and human services, the regional chief executive of the American Red Cross and two calls to Nick Ayers, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence.

On Wednesday, Sept. 12, McMaster had calls with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Housing Secretary Ben Carson and Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon. McMaster also had calls with Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and the mayors of Beaufort, Charleston, Georgetown, Hardeeville, North Charleston, North Myrtle Beach, Pawley’s Island, and the sheriff of Beaufort County, as well as calls with seven different lawmakers.

In between, McMaster sat down for a meeting with the president of Duke Energy. The next day, he had more calls with Duke, SCANA, Santee Cooper and Verizon; the secretaries of transportation and veterans affairs; and local government leaders in multiple counties.

Among those leaders was the mayor of Nichols — hard hit by flooding from Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and hit again by flooding in the aftermath of Florence.

On Friday, Sept. 14 — the day Florence made landfall — McMaster spoke with U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-Springdale; Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin; eight other mayors and the chairman of Charleston County Council; and the administrator of FEMA again.

The next day, as rain from the slow-moving storm lashed the state, McMaster had two joint calls with leaders on the coast — one with officials in Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton and Dorchester counties, another with leaders in Georgetown and Horry counties. With many of the state’s schools already closed for days, he also spoke with Education Superintendent Molly Spearman, Sen. Scott, and a half-dozen other lawmakers and mayors.

Last Sunday, as the damage from the storm became apparent, McMaster made 19 calls between 9:40 a.m. and 5:57 p.m. One was a conference call with Christy Hall, head of the S.C. Department of Transportation, and Conway Mayor Barbara Blain-Bellamy, as Transportation Department crews rushed to divert water to keep roads in Horry County open ahead of flooding that struck later in the week.

The weekly breakdown of the governor’s schedule ends Sept. 16, so we don’t know how much time McMaster has spent on the phone as the state tries to recover from Florence’s aftermath.

S.C. Legislature to return to Columbia

They’ll be back.

Soon.

S.C. lawmakers are returning to Columbia next month for a special session, when they will decide whether to override or sustain $35.8 million in budget vetoes by Gov. McMaster.

That includes McMaster’s nearly $16 million veto of money for health care services, a veto aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood over its abortion services.

Leaders in the overwhelmingly Republican S.C. House say that controversial veto is likely to be sustained.

But the House will not gavel into session immediately.

House leaders expect the state Senate to pass a bill on Oct. 2 that conforms the state’s tax code to the recently changed federal tax law. Then, House Speaker Lucas will call on his House colleagues to return to Columbia.

House Clerk Charles Reid has notified House members they should expect to return to Columbia on Oct. 3 for a two-day session if the Senate passes tax conformity.