Welcome back to Barf Bag.
This week was very grim indeed and we must unfortunately inform you of more grim information: Rep. Nancy Mace (R) says she is “seriously considering” running for South Carolina governor in 2026.
Mace represents South Carolina’s 1st District, which is deeply gerrymandered: After a Democrat won the seat in 2018, the Republican-controlled state legislature moved 30,000 Black Charleston residents, who lean Democratic, out of the district. Mace won in 2020 and is now in her third term in the seat.
Mace isn’t really known for legislating and has instead, garnered much more attention for her desperate stunts. Like when she walked through the House office building wearing a “Scarlett letter” tank top after she voted to eject former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy; or when she claimed she was being “rape-shamed by the left” because people sometimes asked how she, as a rape survivor, could endorse an adjudicated rapist; or how obsessed she is with the genitals of her coworkers. (After Sarah McBride became the first out trans person to win a Congressional seat in November, Mace introduced a resolution banning transgender women from using women’s bathrooms at the U.S. Capitol or House office buildings and then posted about it incessantly.)
She’s also reportedly a nightmare to work for! Between November 2023 and February 2024, her entire DC office staff quit. Former employees accused her of fostering a “toxic” work environment” and called her “abusive” and “delusional as a boss.”
Mace told The Associated Press that she plans to ask for support from President Donald Trump, who endorsed her in her most recent primary, and would make her final decision in the coming weeks. Mace used to be a Trump critic until she fell in line by endorsing him over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 primary.
Mace hilariously claimed in the AP interview: “I’ve acquired the leadership necessary to be bold, to make sure that we are moving forward with conservative policies. I have made a difference in the work that I have done up here, and know that I could do even more at the state level.”
Bold leadership is tweeting about bathrooms hundreds of times? Got it.
So, so much barf:
- More news on embattled Trump defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth: His former sister-in-law says he believed that “women should not vote or work and that Christians needed to have more children so they could overtake the Muslim population.” [Mother Jones]
- AND! In 2024 podcast interviews, Hegseth expressed support for Christian Reconstructionism, including the view that “civil government” should be subordinate to Old Testament law and there should be capital punishment for infringements on that law, like homosexuality. [The Guardian]
- Trump said that ICE can now arrest suspected undocumented immigrants at churches, schools, and hospitals, ending a humane policy that’s been in effect since 2011. [ABC News]
- Federal health agencies including the CDC and FDA were instructed that, until February 1, any public statements need prior approval by a Presidential appointee. The directive could delay several reports on the bird flu. [NBC News]
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s first overseas trip will be to Central American countries including Panama. Unfortunately, Trump sounds serious about this canal thing. [ABC News]
- When asked about Trump’s decision to pardon nearly 1,500 January 6 defendants, including those who attacked police officers, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said he’s “looking forward to the next four years, not the last four.” [NBC News]
- Relatedly, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced a new House January 6 committee because the one that determined Trump was to blame for the insurrection was “politically motivated.” [Politico/New York Times]
- Eric Adams Pardon Watch begins. [Politico]
- Elon Musk might get a West Wing office after all. [New York Times]
- The Anti-Defamation League was fine with Musk’s Nazi-like salute, but it draws the line at bad tweets. [Axios/Daily Beast]
- CNN CEO Mark Thompson told reporters and anchors ahead of Inauguration Day to avoid “pre-judging” Trump and “expressing any outrage of their own.” [Status News]
- Police in multiple Kentucky towns found fliers purportedly issued by the Ku Klux Klan on Inauguration Day that directed immigrants to “leave now” and “avoid deportation.” [Washington Post]
- The one remaining founder of the Village People is insistent that the Trump-rally favorite “Y.M.C.A.” is not a gay anthem. [Washington Post]
This has been your weekly Barf Bag, thanks for reading!
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