Nancy Mace ratted out by her own staffers in WaPo exposé on excessive reimbursements
The Washington Post has written a lengthy exposé about a new congressional reimbursement program that ethics watchdogs have called ripe for abuse.
While the Post's report raises some eyebrows about many members' expenses, none are quite as eyebrow-raising as the reimbursements requested by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).
In fact, the Post got some members of Mace's own staff to provide some details about her spending habits.
The program in question, which was passed on a bipartisan basis, was intended to help lawmakers cover expenses incurred from owning and maintaining two homes: One in Washington D.C. and one in their districts.
According to the Post, the program has few rules: "Lawmakers cannot be repaid for principal or interest on their mortgages, they can only get reimbursement for days they’re actually working or flying to D.C., and they can’t ask for more back than their actual expenses."
ALSO READ: Michael Cohen, Red Finch and the fateful moment Trump lost the jury
Most crucially, the program does not require lawmakers to provide receipts to justify reimbursements, meaning that it is essentially an honor system where taxpayers are asked to trust that they aren't using government funds to pay off their mortgages.
And this is where Mace comes in.
"Mace was told by people involved with her office finances that she could not justify claiming more than about $1,800 a month for expenses on the townhouse, according to two people familiar with the discussions," the paper reports. "One source showed The Post a document laying out Mace’s monthly expenses for the townhouse and calculating them as $1,726."
What's more, three sources tell the paper that Mace "instructed her staff to seek the maximum reimbursement each day the House was in session, regardless of her actual expenses."
Mace has denied these allegations but also did not provide the Post with a detailed breakdown of her expenses.
Mace has gained a reputation during her time in Washington for cultivating a toxic work environment that has seen mass staff exoduses.