Rep. Nancy Mace took to conservative television Tuesday to forcefully deny one of the most damaging allegations leveled against her in a recent New York Magazine exposé—but the denial was quickly undercut by a former staffer who called it a flat-out lie.
The article, which cited multiple current and former employees, painted a chaotic picture of Mace’s behind-the-scenes behavior, including concerns about her mental health, substance use, and treatment of staff. Among the most explosive claims: that Mace regularly ordered congressional aides to make liquor runs for her, allegedly violating House ethics rules.
Appearing on Newsmax, Mace zeroed in on that allegation, rejecting it outright and portraying it as absurd. “Absolutely not,” she said when asked whether staff had ever delivered alcohol to her home at night. Mace claimed she goes to bed early, said no one has been at her house after midnight, and insisted the claims could be disproven by her home security system.
She further argued that heavy drinking would be impossible due to a lifelong diagnosis of hemochromatosis, a condition involving excess iron in the blood. Consuming alcohol under those circumstances, she said, would be fatal. “I love life,” Mace told viewers, presenting the allegation as not just false, but medically implausible.
That explanation did not sit well with Natalie Johnson, a former staffer who worked in Mace’s congressional office. Johnson publicly challenged the congresswoman’s claims, offering a sharply different account of Mace’s habits. “Nancy Mace claiming she doesn’t drink alcohol might be the funniest, most brazen lie she’s told to date,” Johnson said.
Johnson alleged that Mace frequently consumed alcohol during the workday and instructed interns or junior staff to purchase liquor for her from Congressional Liquor, sometimes while official business was underway. The detail directly contradicted Mace’s attempt to frame the accusation as a fringe or easily debunked smear.
The clash comes at a precarious moment for Mace, who is running for governor of South Carolina in a crowded Republican primary to succeed outgoing Gov. Henry McMaster. Already a polarizing figure, Mace has drawn national attention in recent years for her aggressive anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, public accusations against her former fiancé, and repeated willingness to weaponize personal controversy for political attention.
What makes the current dispute particularly damaging is not just the allegation itself, but the source of the rebuttal. Johnson is not a political rival or anonymous critic, but a former insider disputing Mace’s account in plain language, with specific details that suggest the magazine’s reporting was not invented.
