Mace campaign staffer quits governor bid team, accusing her of disloyalty to Trump
In a surprising turn of events, J. Austin McCubbin, a campaign consultant for Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), announced his resignation, citing concerns over Mace’s alignment within the Republican Party. McCubbin took to social media platform X to express his discontent, claiming that Mace has shifted her political stance closer to the libertarian ideologies represented by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). He alleged that Mace’s recent support for a significant financial contribution to Rand Paul’s PAC indicated a departure from the traditional Republican values associated with former President Donald Trump. “Nancy Mace is wittingly or unwittingly a proxy for Rand Paul’s 2028 presidential campaign,” he stated, emphasizing that this shift was the “straw that broke the camel’s back.”
In response to McCubbin’s claims, Mace’s campaign spokesperson dismissed his resignation as stemming from disagreements over compensation rather than ideological differences. The spokesperson contended that McCubbin had not contributed financially to the campaign and had made unreasonable demands for monthly payment for his services. This conflict comes at a critical time for Mace, who is navigating a competitive race for governor in South Carolina while the Republican Party grapples with internal divisions. McCubbin’s resignation follows closely behind Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s unexpected departure from her role, further highlighting the fractures within the GOP.
Despite her past criticisms of Trump, including her stance on the January 6 Capitol riot and transparency regarding the Jeffrey Epstein case, Mace has largely voted in alignment with party leadership. However, her recent associations with Massie and Paul—who often clash with Trump on issues such as government spending and foreign policy—have raised questions about her loyalty to the former president. McCubbin’s departure underscores the ongoing struggle within the Republican Party to maintain unity amid differing factions, particularly as the 2024 presidential race looms on the horizon. As the Mace campaign asserts her commitment to Trump, the tension between traditional Republican values and the libertarian-leaning perspectives of figures like Massie and Paul continues to shape the political landscape.
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A campaign consultant to Rep.
Nancy Mace,
R-S.C., announced he had resigned his post Monday, voicing concerns about Mace’s future alignment within the Republican Party.
“This is about loyalty,” J. Austin McCubbin wrote
in an X post.
McCubbin said Mace had positioned herself too close to Rep.
Thomas Massie,
R-Ky., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., driving a wedge between hers and President Donald Trump’s visions for the country.
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“When I talked to Nancy last Wednesday, it became clear she has fully embraced the Rand Paul PAC. She told me she is directing a personal friend to fund a 7-figure check to Rand’s PAC. She distanced herself, and now she’s fully embracing the Rand Paul + Thomas Massie wing for money,” McCubbin alleged.
“Nancy Mace is wittingly or unwittingly a proxy for Rand Paul’s 2028 presidential campaign. That’s the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
When asked about McCubbin’s resignation, a spokesperson for Mace said his departure had stemmed from disagreements over compensation.
“Mr. McCubbin didn’t raise a dime for the campaign or, better yet, never even bothered showing up. When he demanded $10,000 a month for ‘services’ and was told no, he ran straight to X. Good luck with that,” the campaign spokesperson said.
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McCubbin’s resignation comes as the Mace campaign navigates a crowded field in the South Carolina’s governor’s race and highlights questions about the GOP’s unity.
Massie and Paul represent a small but increasingly vocal fraction of the Republican Party who have clashed with Trump on the country’s spending, foreign engagements and the scale of government.
But they’re not the only source of discord in the party.
McCubbin’s concerns about Mace’s political position follow on the heels of a shocking resignation announcement from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., — once one of Trump’s most fervent supporters in the House of Representatives. It also closely trails a small-scale rebellion that unlocked consideration of
whether to release
the DOJ’s files on Jeffrey Epstein against the president’s wishes.
Mace was one of those rebels, joining three other Republicans to support the measure alongside all the chamber’s Democrats.
Although Mace has repeatedly pledged to support the president’s direction, she has clashed with the president on questions about transparency on Epstein and initially criticized Trump’s rhetoric in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Despite a handful of high-profile disagreements in the past, Mace has voted with the majority of the party on most occasions in this session of Congress, bucking the majority’s trend just 5% of the time.
To McCubbin, it was her proximity to the far more frequent nonconformists like Massie and Paul that prompted his resignation.
“She wouldn’t hear it when I warned her about the political risks and offered alternative solutions,” McCubbin said of her support for Paul.
“Anyone who knows me knows that I have nothing personally against Rand or Nancy. This is about loyalty. My loyalty lies with President Trump,” he added.
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In response to McCubbin’s statements, the Mace campaign said she stood firmly with the president.
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“Nancy Mace has stood with President Trump since Day ONE. Mr. McCubbin said it himself: ‘Nancy Mace will be the most pro-Trump and America First Governor in the country,'” the campaign spokesperson told FOX Digital.
McCubbin, Paul, Massie and the RNC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
