Congress

How Nancy Mace Lost Key Staff—And a Popcorn Machine

SALTY

Three staffers—and a popcorn machine—are on their way out of the South Carolina Republican's office, according to the Washington Examiner.

Nancy Mace
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Two months after she voted to boot Kevin McCarthy from the House speakership, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is dealing with some leadership problems of her own.

In the past week, three staffers have left Mace’s office, according to a new report in The Washington Examiner.

Two of the staffers resigned, while chief of staff and longtime Mace staffer Dan Hanlon was fired, according to the Examiner, which quoted one source alleging a “toxic work environment.”

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The reported staff exodus is not the first sign of difficulty in Mace’s office. In November, The Daily Beast obtained a staff handbook written by Mace in 2021, in which she made steep demands of aides, in particular pushing them to focus heavily on communications. Staffers at every level of her operation were required to draft at least one tweet for the congresswoman per day, for instance.

Mace's office did not immediately return a request for comment on this report.

Hanlon, who had worked for Mace from her arrival in Congress in January 2021, took a popcorn maker with him when he left the office after his firing on Friday, according to the Examiner.

“He did love that popcorn machine,” a former senior Mace staffer told The Daily Beast. “To be clear, the popcorn machine did belong to him.”

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