Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina left a closed-door House Oversight Committee meeting in tears on Tuesday, overcome while listening to testimony from women who survived Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. The emotional exit drew attention both because of Mace’s history as a survivor of sexual assault and because of the political weight surrounding Congress’s long-running investigation into Epstein’s crimes.
Mace was photographed wiping tears from her eyes as she walked out of the committee room in Washington, shaking her head when asked questions by reporters. Later, she explained on X: “As a recent survivor (not 2 years in), I had a very difficult time listening to their stories. Full blown panic attack. Sweating. Hyperventilating. Shaking. I can’t breathe.”
Her comments echoed what she has already made public about her own experience. Back in February, Mace delivered a speech on the House floor naming four men—including her ex-fiancé—whom she accused of “some of the most heinous crimes against women imaginable.” “I rise today to call out the cowards who think they can prey on women and get away with it,” she said at the time. “Today, I’m going scorched earth.” All four men denied the claims, and a related defamation lawsuit was later dismissed under congressional immunity.
Tuesday’s meeting was convened as part of the Oversight Committee’s probe into how federal agencies handled Epstein’s case and whether documents have been improperly withheld. Six Epstein victims traveled to Washington to meet with lawmakers including Mace, Chairman James Comer, and House Speaker Mike Johnson. The session lasted more than two hours, according to The New York Times.
Mace’s emotional reaction underscored just how personal the issue is for many in Congress. She told reporters she had no concerns about crossing Donald Trump, despite his reluctance to act decisively on Epstein-related disclosures even after voicing support for “maximum transparency” during his campaign.
Speaker Johnson said the stakes of the inquiry could not be higher, estimating that there may be as many as 1,000 victims of Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. “The objective here is not just to uncover, investigate the Epstein evils, but also to ensure that this never happens again,” he said. “It is inexcusable. And it will stop now because the Congress is dialed in on this.” Johnson confirmed that the Department of Justice has received and is processing more than 34,000 documents, with the first batch—33,000 records—released Tuesday night.
But Democrats were quick to note that most of those documents were already public. “I’m glad all those files have been released to the American public, but most of it is already in the public record,” said California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee. He pressed Attorney General Pam Bondi to comply fully with the committee’s subpoena, adding that she had once claimed the files were “on her desk.”
For survivors, the release of records is only part of the battle. One woman, speaking to MSNBC on Monday, called for courage from lawmakers across the aisle. “This is, most importantly, a bipartisan issue,” she said. “No one should be for child sex trafficking and allowing perpetrators to escape justice, and no one should be for systems failing to prosecute over decades.”
For Mace, Tuesday’s meeting drove home that reality in raw, personal terms. “I feel the immense pain of how hard all victims are fighting for themselves,” she wrote after leaving the session. “Because we know absolutely no one will fight for us. GOD BLESS ALL SURVIVORS.”
