'I’m a sinner not a saint!' Nancy Mace excuses joking about premarital sexual intercourse at prayer breakfast

Asher Notheis

July 27, 04:57 PM July 27, 05:00 PM

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has defended remarks she manufactured throughout a Republican prayer breakfast on Wednesday, exactly where she joked about rejecting sexual intercourse from her fiance to be on time for the function.

Footage of Mace's speech at the party, where by she produced the joke, was shared on social media Thursday early morning. Mace stated in the course of her physical appearance at the prayer breakfast that she turned down sex with her fiance on Wednesday early morning because "I obtained to get to the prayer breakfast," introducing that she would see her fiance "later tonight."

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Immediately after the clip went viral, Mace took to X, the social media platform previously recognized as Twitter, to clarify her remark. "I go to church since I’m a sinner not a saint!" Mace wrote on Thursday afternoon. "Happy people in attendance, including Tim Scott and my pastor, took this joke in stride. Pastor Greg and I will have additional to talk about on Sunday."

Mace's clarification of her joke obtained varying ranges of reaction.

The prayer breakfast Mace attended was the 13th Yearly South Carolina Prayer Breakfast, which was hosted by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). Other persons in attendance at the breakfast incorporated Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), together with Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and William Timmons (R-SC).

“The very good news for people of us who are listed here is that on our thirteenth anniversary, we have performed in the final 13 decades what we will do this year - which is go away our political dissimilarities at the doorway,” read a assertion from Scott in a press release. “This is an prospect for us to certainly celebrate religion and celebrate South Carolina, and not rejoice pink or blue, black or white, but just a risen Savior and the pleasure of living in a state in which that’s attainable.”

The Washington Examiner contacted Scott for remark.

Sen. Tim Scott takes the first step toward a 2024 presidential run

W. James Antle III

April 12, 06:39 AM April 12, 06:51 AM

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) announced Wednesday that he is launching a 2024 exploratory committee, the first step toward running for president.

Scott, 57, is testing whether to join a Republican presidential field dominated by former President Donald Trump. It also includes former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, a fellow South Carolinian and former governor of that state, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR).

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and former Vice President Mike Pence are also widely believed to be considering runs. DeSantis is likely to make a decision by the conclusion of the Florida legislative session next month.

MCCARTHY’S MOMENTUM

Scott’s travel itinerary strongly suggested he was taking a look at the race. He is headed to Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states on the Republican primary calendar, before heading to a summit in his native South Carolina, which will also come early.

An exploratory committee would allow Scott to fund that travel as well as polling to test his viability. He would then be able to transfer the money to a campaign if he entered the Republican nomination contest.

Scott was first elected to the Charleston city council in 1995, serving multiple terms and becoming chairman in 2007. He was elected to the lower house of the state legislature in 2008, serving two terms.

In 2010, Scott won a competitive Republican primary for Congress, defeating the sons of two former governors: Paul Thurmond, whose father was also a longtime U.S. senator from South Carolina, and Carroll A. Campbell III. Scott and Thurmond went to a runoff, which the former won by more than 30 points. Scott went on to win the general election, becoming the first black Republican elected to Congress from South Carolina in over 100 years.

Scott was reelected in 2012, this time running unopposed in the Republican primary and beating the Democrat by more than 30 points. But he didn’t stay long. Haley, then governor of South Carolina, appointed him to fill the vacancy created when Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) stepped down to become president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

That appointment made Scott the first black senator from South Carolina, the first black Republican senator since Sen. Edward Brooke (R-MA) was defeated for reelection in 1978, and the first black Southern senator since Reconstruction. There were two periods in 2013 when Scott was the only African American member of the Senate.

Scott would go on to win an election to the final two years of DeMint’s term in 2014, which was also the year Republicans finally captured the Senate under former President Barack Obama. Scott was reelected to full terms in 2016 and 2022. In 2021, he delivered the Republican response to President Joe Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress, receiving generally positive reviews.

A conservative, Scott has been active in police reform negotiations with Senate Democrats and helped pass criminal justice reform legislation under former President Donald Trump. Though he and Haley initially supported Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), presenting an image many hailed as that of a new diverse GOP, Scott skillfully navigated the Trump years.

If Scott were to seek the GOP presidential nomination, he would be the highest-ranking black official to do so. Alan Keyes and Arthur Fletcher were assistant Cabinet secretaries under Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, respectively. Herman Cain was a businessman and prominent spokesman for conservative causes. Ben Carson was a neurosurgeon and author who became secretary of housing and urban development under Trump.

Colin Powell, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George H.W. Bush and national security adviser to Reagan, who became secretary of state under George W. Bush, was touted as a possible candidate for the 1996 Republican presidential nomination but never ran.

“My grandfather voted for the first man of color to be reelected as president of the United States,” Scott said at his victory rally last year. “I wish he lived long enough, long enough to see perhaps another man of color — and this time, vote for a Republican and not a Democrat.”

A presidential run would also put Scott at odds with his erstwhile ally Haley. The two share donors and supporters in common, as did Floridians Rubio and Jeb Bush in 2016, and would both presumably look to South Carolina as a launching pad for their campaigns.

The South Carolina primary proved decisive to the nominations of the elder Bush in 1988, Bob Dole in 1996, the younger Bush in 2000, John McCain in 2008, and Trump in 2016, though a win there did little to boost Newt Gingrich in 2012.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was unable to parlay his status as the Palmetto State’s senior senator into a workable presidential candidacy in 2016. He dropped out before the first votes were cast in late 2015, ultimately becoming a Trump ally.

Haley wouldn’t be Scott’s only obstacle. He received 0.8% of the vote in the RealClearPolitics average of national polls, good for 10th place behind such longshots as former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ).

Scott wasn’t included in the most recent Reuters poll and received 1% in a Trafalgar poll. He would enter what is so far predominantly a Trump-DeSantis contest, assuming the Florida governor eventually declares, with considerable ground to make up. Trump leads in the current national polling, but the picture in the early states is murkier.

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Scott is viewed as a skilled orator with an inspiring story. During his politically formative years, he won the support of Tea Party groups and the Club for Growth.

“If you want to understand America, you need to start in Charleston; you need to understand and appreciate the devastation brought upon African Americans,” Scott said in February. “But if you stop at our original sin, you have not started the story of America because the story of America is not defined by our original sin. The story of America is defined by our redemption.”

SVB collapse: Senate GOP gets second briefing on bank failure after being 'excluded' from first

Emily Jacobs

March 13, 06:21 PM March 13, 06:21 PM

Senate Republicans received an additional briefing on the Silicon Valley Bank collapse Monday after the Treasury Department neglected to invite or inform a number of GOP lawmakers and staff of a hastily scheduled Sunday session.

Treasury officials briefing lawmakers during the Sunday night session admitted on the call that their invitations did not get out to every lawmaker, an aide to Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) told the Washington Examiner on Monday. Scott, who serves as the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, was one of the many GOP lawmakers who did not receive an invite. GOP Banking Committee staffers were also not told of the Sunday briefing.

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"It is unacceptable that Senate Republicans were excluded from Treasury's briefing to Congress this evening," Senate Banking Republicans tweeted from their minority party account after missing out on the first call. "The lack of transparency & responsiveness from the Biden administration has been galling. The administration has the responsibility to keep ALL members updated in real time."

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), who serves with Scott on the panel, was one of the other Republicans not told of the call beforehand, WHD News reported Monday. His representatives did not respond to an inquiry from the Washington Examiner on the matter.

Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), another Senate Banking Republican, lambasted the Biden administration in a statement to WHD News after the Sunday mishap, telling the network, "The public deserves full transparency and accountability without regards to partisanship, and it is unacceptable that this administration excluded Senate Republicans, including those on the Senate Banking Committee, from Sunday night’s bicameral member briefing."

A number of Republicans were present on the call, however, including Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Marc Molinaro (R-NY) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).

The Scott aide said the Treasury Department agreed to another briefing at noon on Monday in an effort to reach those who were missed.

The Treasury Department did not respond to the Washington Examiner's request for comment, though an agency official rejected the accusation that Republicans were purposely excluded to WHD News on Monday, noting that invitations for the call had been sent to GOP leadership in the House and Senate.

Officials on both calls briefed lawmakers on the federal regulatory efforts taking place to prevent the Silicon Valley Bank collapse from tanking other financial institutions. Banking regulators shut down SVB on Friday, two days after the nation's 16th-largest federally insured bank announced that it needed to raise more than $2.2 billion to remain solvent, which sent its stock price plunging over 60% in 48 hours.

On Sunday evening, they also announced the closure of Signature Bank while revealing plans to make customers of both financial institutions whole. The SVB failure is the second-largest in U.S. banking history, while Signature Bank is the third.

Tim Scott war chest gives possible advantage as he considers presidential run

Cami Mondeaux

February 21, 09:57 AM February 21, 09:57 AM

As Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) eyes a White House bid in 2024, the South Carolina senator benefits from a massive campaign war chest and fundraising strength that could give him a boost over other presidential contenders.

Although Scott has not declared whether he intends to run for president, speculation of a possible White House bid began to rise in early February after the senator hired former Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and longtime Republican operative Rob Collins to lead his super PAC.

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Scott launched his Opportunity Matters Fund in September in an effort to boost several GOP candidates during the midterm elections. Since then, he has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on purchasing ads as he mulls a presidential bid.

Meanwhile, Scott has positioned himself as a top fundraiser during the 2022 midterm cycle, raising more than $43 million for his reelection campaign, according to records from the Federal Election Commission. That fundraising haul leaves Scott with nearly $22 million on hand as of Dec. 31. The senator can transfer that money to a presidential committee should he choose to run.

That puts Scott above former President Donald Trump, who reported having $3 million on hand at the end of last year, according to campaign records.

Trump has struggled with a slow fundraising start, but the former president is looking to boost his standing by hosting a dinner for some of his top donors at his Mar-a-Lago home on Thursday, marking his first fundraiser of the 2024 cycle.

Scott is also planning to make the rounds this week. He is expected to attend a donor conference in Austin, Texas, on Friday hosted by former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove. That conference will give top contenders, such as Scott, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, a chance to secure top donors as they vie for the White House.

Swing district Iowa Republican will work to keep footing amid Democratic resurgence

David M. Drucker

August 31, 06:30 AM August 31, 06:31 AM

CENTRAL City, Iowa — Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) is rising from a summer months of Republican doldrums battered but nevertheless standing following using rough votes to legalize very same-sexual intercourse relationship and oppose laws capping insulin price ranges.

Hinson signifies the newly configured 2nd Congressional District, a swing seat that provides no assurance a purple wave will sweep her to reelection and puts her on the knife’s edge of politically charged issues. The freshman congresswomen identified as much right after some grassroots conservatives chaffed at her vote to codify same-sexual intercourse marriage, and voters on the reverse facet of the political spectrum took concern with her rejection of federal price caps for insulin.

Hinson waves off the tension, at minimum publicly, expressing it’s part of the work, particularly in Iowa, where voters are politically engaged.

“For me, it was a vote to uphold the Structure. I see the vote I took on Jan. 6 [certifying President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory] on the similar stage as that — and people were being unsatisfied about that vote, also,” Hinson claimed of her aid for legalizing similar-sexual intercourse marriage. She spoke to the Washington Examiner on Sunday, just prior to welcoming hundreds of grassroots Republicans to her next annual “BBQ Bash” around Cedar Rapids.

As for Hinson’s opposition to Democratic laws to cap insulin pricing that loved some Republican help, like from neighboring Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), she similarly refused to equivocate. This was even with currently being pounded with assault adverts on television this summer more than her vote that Republican strategists concede roughed her up and dented, somewhat, her reelection prospective customers.

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“The invoice that they introduced to the flooring did nothing at all to cap the real charge of insulin,” Hinson stated. “I’m in opposition to authorities value-repairing mainly because I consider which is a socialist coverage.” (Hinson emphasised she supports alternate legislation created to minimize insulin prices.)

Hinson defeated then-Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D) in the outdated 1st District in 2020 with just 2.6 percentage details to spare. Republicans checking her race against Democratic challenger Liz Mathis, who, like Hinson, is a former tv news anchor, say Hinson could complete with additional respiratory home this time around — but not so substantially that she can pay for to coastline or count on what continues to be a favorable political setting for the GOP.

Iowa Republicans forecast Hinson wins but underperforms Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) in the 2nd District. To protect the congresswoman against the national Democratic device — and Mathis, whom Republicans concede is a major-tier applicant — Congressional Management Fund, the tremendous PAC aligned with Dwelling Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), has reserved $1.25 million in advertising and marketing. The Countrywide Republican Congressional Committee may possibly also get associated. Hinson is not disputing her race is competitive.

In truth, among the the reasons she structured “Ashley’s BBQ Bash” previous yr, and brought it back for an encore, was to increase revenue and harness the help of grassroots Republicans and conservative activists critical to voter turnout. Hinson’s group estimates providing around 800 tickets this yr. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), a achievable 2024 contender, was the headliner, and Reynolds, Miller-Meeks, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA), and Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann showed up.

Hinson, a qualified violinist, warmed up the crowd with her crimson fiddle as her mothers and fathers, spouse, and two younger sons looked on. She joined the heat-up address band for some region and well known favorites and played a solo rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner."

“We cannot choose everything for granted, ever,” Hinson explained. “That’s why I go almost everywhere in the district each and every quarter.” Hinson reported she figures if Grassley and Reynolds can strike all 99 Iowa counties just about every calendar year, “I can do 20 counties 4 moments.”

Hinson claims the financial system is nonetheless the No. 1 problem in her marketing campaign, arguing she has found zero proof indicating Mathis had received a strengthen from Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health and fitness Firm, the Supreme Court choice overturning Roe v. Wade and getting rid of federal protections for abortion rights. “We’re in a wonderful situation nevertheless,” Hinson explained when questioned about GOP prospective clients for successful the House majority.

Democrats control the Dwelling flooring with just a handful of seats and are taking part in defense in dozens of districts across the nation. Whilst nonpartisan handicappers have recently downgraded projections for Republican gains, Biden’s occupation approval scores are nonetheless languishing near 40%, and the GOP is still on track to reclaim the speaker’s gavel. Democrats hope to make that process more durable by flipping Iowa’s 2nd District.

“Ashley Hinson has demonstrated time and once more she's a hypocrite who is much too intense to provide Iowa or depict Iowa values,” claimed Matt Corridoni, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Marketing campaign Committee. “Liz Mathis is operating to characterize all constituents and will operate with anybody to deliver results.”

If Hinson receives earlier Mathis, voters outdoors of Iowa may well get to know her.

As a telegenic previous local television news anchor, she’s at ease mixing it up with the political press corps and adept at communicating on camera. In a new GOP the vast majority, Republican leaders, always in will need of a lot more conservative woman voices — mothers with youthful small children, in unique — could faucet Hinson as a best messenger. This cycle, Hinson is co-chairing the NRCC’s “Young Guns” system focused on assisting promising 1st-time congressional candidates competing towards qualified Democrats.

Rep. Jim Banking companies (R-IN), jogging for House bulk whip, a submit that would be open if Republicans prevail this drop, traveled to Iowa this earlier weekend to communicate at Hinson’s function and improve her reelection prospects (and perhaps protected her vote for leadership). He said Hinson “happens to previously be a foremost voice in our Republican meeting.”

“A lot of us, myself involved — we appear to her for aiding us sharpen our concept and get our message out,” Banking institutions reported. “Right now, there is practically nothing more crucial than that.”

Publisher will take blame for 'error' in Tim Scott memoir teasing presidential run

Abigail Adcox

July 31, 04:03 PM July 31, 06:44 PM

The publisher of Sen. Tim Scott's (R-SC) upcoming reserve explained a line was erroneously additional to a single of the internet pages claiming the lawmaker is making ready for a presidential run.

Thomas Nelson, an imprint of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, said it was operating to suitable the error immediately after a line was included in fantastic print to the bottom of the copyright website page in The us, a Redemption Tale, as noted by the Write-up and Courier.

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"Senator Scott is a mounting star who sees and understands the significance of bipartisanship to transfer The united states ahead. This e book is a political memoir that features his core messages as he prepares to make a presidential bid in 2022,” the line browse.

Scott's guide is scheduled to strike cabinets on Aug. 9, with presales by now underway.

The publishing business took blame for the mistake, including that it was working to appropriate the error.

"The description on the copyright website page was our error and is not precise. It was not performed at the way or approval of the Senator or his group. We are functioning to proper this straight away,” a spokesperson for HarperCollins Christian Publishing explained to the Washington Examiner.

Scott indicated in an interview with the Article and Courier on Friday that the e book is not meant to be a kickstart for a presidential bid. "That is intriguing that that is the copy on the book," Scott remarked.

It truly is not the initial time the senator has drawn speculation that he may determine to run in 2024, as he headlined an party for the Republican Party of Iowa in June.