Part of: Israel evacuation missions and the White House clash (March 2026)
Mace returns from a second Middle East trip with a 2,000-name manifest; separately, a mother publicly accuses Grey Bull Rescue of demanding $1M before returning her daughter
Around March 19-20, 2026, Rep. Nancy Mace completed a second evacuation trip, helping a South Carolina mother and her four sons travel out of Israel through Jordan. Mace said she held a manifest of over 2,000 stranded Americans. Separately, according to reporting attributed to Jewish Rhode Island and the Jerusalem Post, Dr. Lauren Hofstatter publicly accused Grey Bull Rescue, the nonprofit Mace embedded with, of demanding that approximately $1 million be raised before returning her daughter from Jordan. Grey Bull founder Bryan Stern denied the accusation. Mace defended the organization. The accusation is unadjudicated and is denied.
WTOC reported that Rep. Nancy Mace returned around March 19-20, 2026, from a second evacuation trip to the Middle East. WSAV / Yahoo News also covered the trip.
On this second mission, again embedded with Grey Bull Rescue, Mace helped a South Carolina mother and her four sons, ranging in age from approximately 12 to 22, travel out of Israel through Jordan. She told reporters she was holding a substantial list of Americans still waiting for help:
"I have a manifest right now list of over 2,000 Americans that are stranded, ready to get out."
WTOC's report on Mace's return from her second mission, March 20, 2026.
Separately: an accusation against Grey Bull Rescue
Around the same period, a public controversy emerged involving Grey Bull Rescue itself. According to reporting attributed to Jewish Rhode Island and the Jerusalem Post, Dr. Lauren Hofstatter publicly accused the organization of demanding that approximately $1 million be raised before it would return her daughter from Jordan. Hofstatter is reported to have described the situation in stark terms:
"I don't think her safety was compromised, but I do think she was held hostage, and I do think it is embezzlement and extortion."
Statement attributed to Dr. Lauren Hofstatter, as reported by Jewish Rhode Island / JPost. These are Hofstatter's own allegations, not adjudicated findings; Grey Bull and its founder and CEO Bryan Stern deny them.
The accusation, as reported, is Hofstatter's: she alleges Grey Bull demanded the roughly $1 million before returning her daughter. Grey Bull briefly suspended operations. Founder and CEO Bryan Stern denied the accusation. Mace publicly defended the organization and Stern.
This accusation is against Grey Bull Rescue, not a finding, and not a claim about Mace's own conduct. Jewish Rhode Island and the Jerusalem Post are reported to have carried Hofstatter's account; Military.com had earlier profiled Grey Bull's rescue operations. The matter was not adjudicated, and Grey Bull and Stern deny the allegations.
The accusations against Grey Bull Rescue are Hofstatter's public claims; Grey Bull and Stern deny them. Nothing in this entry is a finding of fact.
Source: WTOC · WSAV / Yahoo News · Jewish Rhode Island, Hofstatter accusation · Military.com, Grey Bull Rescue profile · Fox News
