Tenure
Mace was one of seven Republicans who publicly refused to support their colleagues' efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021. These seven signed a letter that, while giving credence to Trump's allegations of electoral fraud, said Congress did not have the authority to influence the election's outcome. Mace was so concerned by the hostile atmosphere Trump was generating in the District of Columbia that she sent her children home to South Carolina before the congressional vote to accept the Electoral College votes.
After the 2021 United States Capitol attack, Mace pleaded with Trump to condemn it. While locked down in her Capitol office she told CBS News' Red & Blue host Elaine Quijano, "I'm begging the president to get off Twitter." Ultimately Mace voted against impeaching Trump, however, stating that due process had not been properly followed. She would later come to Trump's defense after he was indicted for mishandling classified documents.
In 2024, Mace endorsed Trump in the 2024 Republican primaries over Nikki Haley, who supported Mace in the 2022 primary.
In November 2021, Mace criticized fellow Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert for her anti-Muslim comments about Democrat Ilhan Omar.
On October 3, 2023, Mace voted in favor of removing Kevin McCarthy, a fellow Republican, from his position as speaker of the House. According to Mace, "McCarthy did not follow through on pushing her legislation to address the country's rape-kit backlog, expand access to birth control, adopt a balanced budget amendment and create an alert system that would notify people when there is a mass shooting". McCarthy, who had been a strong ally of Mace's, denied her claims. Following his ouster, Mace took to media, describing him as "a loser" who was "bored and doesn't know what to do with himself." Mace stated that she had never liked McCarthy since she joined Congress, baffling district Republicans who questioned why she had turned on her ally. Berkeley County Republican Party chair Victoria Cowart said "one of the sentiments I get the most is that she's talking out of both sides of her mouth."
On October 30, 2025, Mace was involved in an incident with law enforcement at Charleston International Airport in South Carolina, after the Charleston County Aviation Authority were late to meet her to escort her to her flight. She commented "Fucking incompetent" repeatedly and "this is no way to treat a fucking U.S. Representative". Mace's team claimed this was due to a concern for lax security and the representative's safety. Mace continued to accuse the airport security of "lies" after the incident. During the outburst, Mace commented that they "would never treat Tim Scott like this", which prompted senator Tim Scott and senator Lindsey Graham to publicly denounce Mace for her behavior.
On May 18, 2021, Mace joined 61 other House Republicans to vote against the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which condemned acts of hate against Asian Americans and streamlined data collection and reporting about such occurrences. The bill previously passed the U.S. Senate on a 94–1 vote. Mace said she opposed the bill because it did not address discrimination against Asian-Americans in higher education.
On October 2, 2023, the House of Representatives passed a cybersecurity bill titled the MACE Act, intended to modernize federal cybersecurity job requirements. The bill was introduced by Mace and would be the last bill passed under Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Mace's legislative staff named the bill after her as a joke about Mace's ego.
In April 2024, Mace introduced the Preventing Animal Abuse and Waste Act (i.e. the PAAW Act). The bill "prevents the National Institute of Health (NIH) from conducting or supporting any research that causes significant pain and distress to dogs and cats." It also "requires reports to Congress by the NIH and Government Accountability Office detailing NIH-funded dog and cat experiments, their cost and assessments of NIH efforts to phase them out."
In 2025, Mace was among a handful of Republican lawmakers to sign a petition calling for a vote on the release of the Epstein files. Mace, a survivor of rape and sexual abuse, wrote on social media that "the Epstein petition is deeply personal."
Many former congressional staffers for Mace have described her approach to her office as focused on gaining media attention. Her staffers have attributed many of her political actions, such as her vote against McCarthy, to a desire to make headlines and appear on TV programs. Staffers recalled her attempting to attract attention to herself during the January 6 Capitol attack by risking her own safety and seeking to be assaulted by rioters. Mace's former communications director described a resolution introduced by Mace to limit usage of House of Representatives bathrooms to those designated for one's biological sex, in response to the election of a transgender member, as a ploy for media attention. Legislative staffers for Mace described her efforts to attract media attention as hampering her legislative agenda and working relationships with other members of Congress.
An internal staff handbook written by Mace showcased a strong focus on public image and media attention, with strenuous expectations for communications staff. Mace's handbook required communications staffers to book her on national TV outlets at least 1–3 times a day, and on local TV channels at least 6 times per week. The handbook was more detailed in its descriptions of communications staff compared to legislative and constituent-focused staff positions. Mace's office experienced high levels of turnover, including a complete turnover of all staff between November 2023 and February 2024.
In December 2024, Mace said that foster youth activist and children's advocate James McIntyre threatened and physically assaulted her during a handshake at a foster care youth advocacy event. McIntyre was subsequently arrested by U.S. Capitol Police on charges of assaulting a government official and was jailed overnight. In court documents, Mace stated that McIntyre "began to aggressively and in an exaggerated manner shake her arm up and down in a hand shaking motion," with "her arm flailing for about 3–5 seconds." According to Mace, McIntyre had said, "Trans youth deserve advocacy," and Mace described herself as being "in shock" and "intimidated". At least three witnesses disputed Mace's description of the handshake, saying they saw nothing but a "routine handshake". Another witness stated that McIntyre "took her hand with both of his hands and shook her arm up and down in an exaggerated, aggressive handshaking motion". Mace refused paramedics' assistance, but stated in court documents that she felt "pain in her wrists, arm and armpit/shoulder due to the incident".
On April 1, 2025, the United States attorney for the District of Columbia announced he would drop the misdemeanor charge against McIntyre. Shortly after, Mace withdrew from the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth. Mace was replaced as co-chair by Rep. Erin Houchin.
