Rep. Nancy Mace’s tense encounter with police and TSA officers at Charleston International Airport is now laid out in a detailed internal report — and the findings paint a picture of a morning that spiraled far beyond a simple mix-up.
According to the New York Post, the confrontation, which unfolded on Oct. 30, began when Mace’s airport escort wasn’t waiting for her upon arrival.
According to the 10-page review, a supervisor mistakenly relayed that she would be arriving in a white vehicle. Instead, she pulled up in a grey BMW, throwing off the timing.
That minor error, the report says, collided with two persistent issues: Mace’s habit of coordinating logistical details through the encrypted app Signal — something “no other protectee” does — and frequent staff turnover, which airport police said made communication erratic.
Still, the report concludes Mace’s own choices escalated the moment. It says she bypassed established protocols at the checkpoint and grew verbally aggressive as soon as she realized her escort wasn’t present.
Security officers recounted that Mace was already mid-call as she approached TSA, telling someone on the other end, “I shouldn’t be waiting,” and, “This is always happening.” She also complained that a senator wouldn’t be subjected to the same delay, echoing an earlier account that quoted her saying, “Tim Scott would not be f–king treated this way.”
Though she was delayed no more than six minutes, witnesses described those minutes as tense.
The report states that Mace berated a TSA supervisor, refused to go through a regular checkpoint lane, and demanded, “You need to go and get whoever.” When officers arrived to escort her, she redirected her frustration toward them.
“I’m sick of your s–t,” she said at one point, according to the report. “You guys are always [f–king] late.”
A supervisory TSA officer told investigators he heard her call police “f–king idiots” and “f–king incompetent,” and said staff were left “visibly upset” by the exchange. The report also notes none of the TSA officers were being paid at the time due to the federal government shutdown.
Airport police added that Mace’s team frequently requests escorts citing threats to her safety, but has “never provided” documentation to support those concerns — and that officers have arrived “countless” times to find Mace wasn’t where her staff said she’d be.
After the findings were released Monday, Mace’s office said the review amounted to an “exoneration,” and insisted she remains focused on issues like affordability and law enforcement.
But the political fallout has extended beyond the airport.
Sen. Tim Scott issued a pointed rebuke earlier this fall, saying it is “never acceptable to berate” law enforcement or staff, and noting he does not use profanity “in public or private.”
Recent polling shows Mace sliding in the GOP gubernatorial primary field — a shift that began after the incident. Whether voters see the episode as a moment of frustration or a sign of temperament may determine how far she continues to fall.
