Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina touched off another round of Republican infighting on Wednesday, announcing plans to force a vote to censure Rep. Cory Mills of Florida and strip him of his committee seats.
Mace intends to bring the measure to the floor as a privileged resolution, a procedural move that compels GOP leadership to hold a vote within two legislative days. That sets up a showdown by the end of the week—and one that Republicans can’t easily sidestep.
Democrats themselves have dangled censure threats over Mills in recent months—but always tactically. When Republicans tried to censure Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey, an effort that collapsed spectacularly, Democrats held their own Mills resolution in reserve as a retaliatory threat. And when those GOP efforts fizzled, Democrats pulled back their own.
And that pattern has repeated more than once.
The dynamic helps explain why Mace’s move is landing with such force inside her own party. Republicans have spent months watching censure attempts against Democrats implode, only to see Democrats continue to shield Mills from reciprocal punishment.
The tension boiled over Tuesday night when the House rejected a GOP resolution to censure Delegate Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands for her 2019 text messages with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Three Republicans joined Democrats in blocking the measure, and three more voted “present.”
“I was wondering if the speaker of the House of Representatives can explain why leadership on both sides, both Democrat and Republican, are cutting back-end deals to cover up public corruption in the House of Representatives for both Republican and Democrat members of Congress,” GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida said on the House floor Tuesday in a parliamentary inquiry that was quickly ruled out of order.
Mills, who denied any deal to protect himself and hasn’t commented on Mace’s latest move, has been dogged by controversy all year. In the latest episode, a county judge granted his ex-girlfriend a restraining order after she accused him of harassment and threatening to release sexually explicit videos following their breakup. Mills disputed parts of her account.
House Speaker Mike Johnson brushed off questions about the case, telling reporters to “talk about the things that are really serious.”
Mills has also faced scrutiny over his military record after a Daytona Beach News-Journal report questioned how he received a Bronze Star, citing two service members who disputed his account of a rescue. Mills rejected the allegations.
Mace and Mills have been circling each other for months. When Mace tried to censure Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota in September, Mills cast the deciding vote to sink her measure. Mace responded by airing his controversies on social media and threatening her own censure.
Now she’s making her move.
The resolution could attract unpredictable support. Some Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, have hinted at backing it. Whether Democrats support it remains unclear; Axios reports that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday that he hasn’t yet reviewed the resolution.
While the drama around Mills unfolds, Mace herself has a history of controversial behavior. Just days ago, she drew criticism for reportedly berating law enforcement and Transportation Security Administration staff at Charleston International Airport over a delayed security escort.
And over the summer, she publicly supported President Donald Trump’s inhumane and illegal deportation policies, which included the arrests of people trying to comply with legal immigration proceedings.
This latest feud underscores how fractured the House GOP remains—and how quickly internal grudges are boiling over onto the floor.
Alex Samuels November 20, 2025 at 12:00AM From Daily Kos
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