South Carolina – South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace is publicly acknowledging what many in her party have been quietly worrying about: the GOP may be heading into the midterm elections without having done enough to protect its narrow hold on the U.S. House.
Speaking candidly during a television interview this week, Mace said she is not confident Republicans will retain their majority and warned that time is running out to change course.
During an appearance on Newsmax, Mace was asked directly whether she believed Republicans could keep control of the House after November. Her answer was blunt. She said she does not share that confidence and argued the party has failed to move quickly or decisively enough while holding power.
With Republican primaries beginning as early as March in states like Texas, Mace suggested the window for meaningful legislative action tied to former President Donald Trump’s agenda is rapidly closing.
“Well, no, I’m actually not,” she said.
“I feel like we could do a lot more. We don’t have a lot of time to, I believe, implement all of Donald Trump’s agenda. Republican primaries start in March — Texas is one of the earliest states. And I don’t believe we’ve done enough,” Mace added.
Her comments come as House Republicans face mounting challenges beyond the usual pressures of a midterm election. Voters are grappling with persistent affordability concerns, and Trump’s foreign policy posture has added another layer of uncertainty for the electorate. At the same time, the Republican conference itself is shrinking. A total of 25 House Republicans, including Mace, have announced they will not seek reelection this year.
Mace is leaving Congress to run for governor of South Carolina, further thinning an already fragile majority. The situation has been compounded by unexpected departures and absences. Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s death following emergency surgery came just one day after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation took effect.
As a result, House Speaker Mike Johnson now has virtually no margin for error, able to lose only two votes on party-line legislation if all members are present.
Even that assumption has proven unrealistic. This week, Rep. Jim Baird of Indiana missed a vote after being hospitalized following a serious car accident, highlighting how quickly the math can fall apart. With attendance often uneven, every absence or defection carries outsized consequences for leadership.
To counteract the loss of members, Republicans have leaned heavily on redistricting strategies, hoping gerrymandered maps can help preserve their edge. The effectiveness of those efforts remains uncertain, especially as Democrats in states like California have moved to counterbalance Republican maneuvers with their own map adjustments.
Despite acknowledging the party’s shortcomings, Mace continues to argue that loyalty to Trump remains the best path forward. She praised his leadership and ideas while warning that internal gridlock, particularly in the Senate, could undermine his agenda and weaken Republican chances in the House. Her concern, she said, is that failing to deliver could cost the party dearly in November.
Trump has echoed those fears. In remarks to House Republicans earlier this week, he warned that losing the House would almost certainly lead to another impeachment effort by Democrats. The former president has already been impeached twice, once over Ukraine-related actions and again following the January 6 Capitol attack.
Rep. Nancy Mace has been in the spotlight recently after unveiling a hardline immigration proposal for South Carolina that would impose direct penalties on local officials who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Announced at the State House, her plan centers on the South Carolina Immigration Enforcement Act (SCIEA), which would make it illegal for sheriffs, jail administrators, and local governments to ignore detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
While South Carolina already bans sanctuary policies, Mace argues the law lacks enforcement. Her proposal would introduce criminal and civil consequences for noncompliance, including misdemeanor charges, up to a year in jail, fines, removal from office, and steep daily penalties for local governments.
Modeled in part on Texas Senate Bill 4, the plan would require county jails to honor ICE detainers and provide 48 hours’ notice before releasing individuals suspected of immigration violations. It would also allow residents to file complaints with the state attorney general against jurisdictions they believe are not cooperating.
Mace emphasized that the measure is meant to set clear standards and reward compliance, not punish agencies already following the rules. The proposal arrives amid political uncertainty for Mace, who is weighing a run for governor while navigating tensions within her party and recalibrating her stance after past breaks with Donald Trump, even as she aligns closely with tougher immigration enforcement priorities central to her campaign message.
Together, Mace’s remarks and Trump’s warnings underscore a growing sense of anxiety within Republican ranks as the midterms approach, with control of the House hanging by a thread.
