Campaign for Accountability, a liberal non-profit ethics watchdog group, filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics on Thursday over GOP Rep. Nancy Mace’s recent request for campaign funds during a Fox Business interview.
Mace, one of the seven House Republicans who voted alongside Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to oust Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, was standing in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda when she urged Fox viewers to donate to her campaign website, violating House ethics rules prohibiting the solicitation of campaign contributions in federal buildings.
The South Carolina lawmaker has actively sought to raise cash off of her vote to dethrone McCarthy, sending out fundraising emails immediately after the now-former speaker was removed from his post on Tuesday.
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Mace has also shamelessly begged for donations during her cable news and podcast interviews, including a Wednesday afternoon appearance on Fox Business anchor Neil Cavuto’s program. (Ironically, it was just nine months ago when Mace criticized Gaetz for fundraising off of his attempt to deny McCarthy the speaker’s gavel.)
“You’re damn right I’m fundraising off of this right now because the establishment is coming after me for taking a principled stand,” Mace boasted to Cavuto. “And if your viewers want to help out, they can go to NancyMace.org.”
She would then repeat that request twice more during her Fox appearance, later sharing the clip on social media along with another solicitation for donations. After multiple journalists and political observers pointed out that she appeared to be flouting House rules, Mace would later quietly delete her tweet.
“As you know, both federal law and House rules strictly prohibit the solicitation of campaign contributions on federal property,” Campaign for Accountability executive director Michelle Kuppersmith writes in the complaint. “The federal criminal code prohibits all employees of the federal government, including Members of Congress, from soliciting or receiving donations in connection with an election ‘while in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties.’ Violations are punishable by fines of up to $5,000 and imprisonment of up to three years, or both.”
Adding that the House Ethics Manual also prohibits “against House Members or employees soliciting campaign or political contributions in or from House offices, rooms, or buildings,” the complaint notes that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was reprimanded earlier this year for actions similar to Mace’s.
“The evidence indicates Representative Mace violated federal law and House rules by soliciting contributions while standing in the Capitol Building,” the complaint concludes. “If these laws and rules are to mean anything, the Office of Congressional Ethics must immediately investigate and take quick action to hold Rep. Mace accountable for her actions.”
