Nancy Mace's Former Staff Claim She Had Them Create Burner Accounts to Promote Her

Nancy Mace, nan South Carolina Republican congresswoman, often tells her unit that she’s a self-taught coder—just 1 facet of really Mace presents her tech expertise, arsenic befits her domiciled successful shaping nan GOP’s policies connected exertion and activity arsenic chair of nan House subcommittee connected Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation.

“I would opportunity [it was] astatine slightest a play comment, if not daily,” says 1 of respective erstwhile Mace staffers who said pinch WIRED. Another recovered her precocious respect for her skills somewhat astatine likelihood pinch her demonstrated ability. (Like each nan staffers WIRED said with, they requested anonymity because they fearfulness reprisal from their erstwhile boss.)

A principal—and unusual—use to which Mace put her skills, according to erstwhile staffers, was mounting up burner accounts connected a assortment of societal media platforms to show what group were saying astir her and bolster her image. They besides declare she requested that staffers make their ain burner accounts to take sides her online.

“We had to make aggregate accounts, burner accounts, and spell and reply to comments, saying things that weren’t true—even Reddit forums,” a erstwhile staffer says. “We were legislature staff, and location were existent things we could beryllium doing to thief nan constituents.”

“It would beryllium a slap successful nan look to taxpayers crossed nan state for maine to spent [sic] clip connected their dime commenting connected my bosses [sic.] individual life,” Sydney Long, Mace’s communications director, writes successful an email to WIRED. “The only narration nan Congresswoman cares astir is her 1 pinch South Carolina. She is joined to her occupation and that is each nan media should attraction about.” Mace’s agency did not reply a elaborate database of questions connected nan programming languages successful which she is proficient and what types of devices she uses for coding.

Mace, who unit said erstwhile identified arsenic a “never Trumper,” has go 1 of nan president’s staunchest friends connected Capitol Hill. She’s consenting to spell to much utmost lengths than galore of her colleagues to onslaught Trump’s enemies and gain ample attention online successful nan process, for illustration introducing a resolution to extremity transgender group from utilizing bathrooms that align pinch their gender identity, alternatively than biologic sex, successful national buildings. (This legislation, Mace confirmed, purposefully targeted Representative Sarah McBride from Delaware, nan first openly transgender personnel of Congress.) She besides has a guiding manus connected exertion policy; earlier this year, for example, she re-introduced a measure she antecedently co-sponsored successful 2023, nan Modernizing Government Technology Reform Act, which, if passed and signed into law, would require a sweeping audit of bequest national IT systems.

Recently, Mace showed a “naked silhouette” of herself during a House subcommittee proceeding connected surveillance arsenic portion of a moving drawstring of allegations she’s made against her ex-fiancé, South Carolina businessman Patrick Bryant, whom she accused of physically assaulting her and of possessing images of “underage girls” successful an explosive level reside successful February. During nan speech, she alleged 3 different men had committed various different crimes, including intersexual abuse, activity trafficking, and taking videos of intersexual acts without their consent. Bryant and nan 3 different men person denied Mace’s accusations and did not respond to requests for remark from WIRED. (Because Mace’s comments were made connected nan House floor, she whitethorn beryllium sheltered by nan Constitution’s reside and statement clause, which protects lawmakers from lawsuits related to their legislative actions.)