The House Ethics reimbursement investigation (2025-2026)
The Office of Congressional Conduct voted 6-0 to refer Rep. Mace to the House Committee on Ethics over reimbursements from her official allowance for lodging at a D.C. property she co-owned. The Ethics Committee announced an expanded review in March 2026; no violation has been found.
FOX Carolina News report from March 2, 2026, the day the House Ethics Committee publicly released the OCC report and announced its expanded review.
The House Ethics reimbursement matter involves an independent review, and subsequent congressional committee referral, of Rep. Nancy Mace's use of her official Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) to seek lodging reimbursements for a Washington, D.C., property she co-owned with her then-fiancé.
The Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC), the independent, bipartisan body formerly known as the Office of Congressional Ethics, opened a review covering the period January 2023 through May 2024. On November 18, 2025, the OCC Board voted 6-0 to find "substantial reason to believe that Rep. Mace engaged in improper reimbursement practices" and to refer the matter to the House Committee on Ethics. The Committee released the OCC's report publicly on March 2, 2026 and announced a continued and expanded review. The Committee has made no finding of a violation. Rep. Mace denies any wrongdoing; her counsel calls the report "fundamentally flawed."
A "substantial reason to believe" finding is the OCC's referral threshold, the minimum showing required to advance a matter for Committee review. It is not a determination that any law or House rule was violated.
The OCC report
The full 13-page OCC Report and Findings (Review No. 25-5681) is reproduced at the court-filings hub for this matter. Although the document bears a "CONFIDENTIAL, H. Res. 895" header, the standard procedural marking for OCC referrals, the House Committee on Ethics released it publicly on March 2, 2026. The cover and the central finding are reproduced below.
Cover page of OCC Review No. 25-5681, publicly released March 2, 2026. Recommendation: "there is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Mace engaged in improper reimbursement practices." Board vote: AFFIRMATIVE 6 / NEGATIVE 0 / ABSTENTIONS 0. Presented by Omar S. Ashmawy, OCC Staff Director & Chief Counsel. The "CONFIDENTIAL, H. Res. 895" marking reflects the document's procedural origin under House Resolution 895; the Committee's public release is the operative act.
Page 8, ¶21-22. The OCC found that Rep. Mace "requested and received the maximum allowable reimbursement for each month she filed a reimbursement request form." In 2024, her reimbursement requests exceeded the D.C. property's actual expenses in January, March, April, and May, the month-by-month comparison table shows an excess totaling $9,485.46. ($9,485.46 is the lodging excess figure only; separate reporting by The Post and Courier covers other categories of reimbursement.)
See the court-filings hub for all five rendered pages of the report, including the refusal-to-cooperate page, the former fiancé's accountant's $2,462.94/month figure, and the staffer testimony.
What the report found
The maximum-reimbursement pattern. The OCC found that "Rep. Mace requested and received the maximum allowable reimbursement for each month she filed a reimbursement request form" (¶21).
The $9,485.46 excess. The OCC found that in 2024 Mace's "requests for reimbursement exceeded the total of the DC Property's expenses in January, March, April, and May," an overage the report put at $9,485.46 (¶22). The report also identifies excess months across 2023.
No documented payment (¶25). The OCC reviewed correspondence between Mace and the former fiancé's accountant suggesting that "while she had received reimbursement from the House for her lodging expenses, as of October 5, 2023, she had not contributed the funds to the bank account associated with the DC Property." Utility bills were largely in the former fiancé's name and paid from the joint account.
Unable to determine the reason (¶28). "Because Rep. Mace refused to interview in this matter, the OCC was unable to determine how or why Rep. Mace decided to seek the maximum allowable reimbursement when it exceeded her expenses incurred."
The accountant's figure (¶30). Correspondence reviewed by the OCC "suggests that Rep. Mace was entitled to request $2,462.94 in monthly reimbursement, based on the 2022 costs of the DC Property." Mace requested the maximum every month she filed; for four of those months her requests exceeded the $2,462.94 figure.
The staffer's testimony (¶31). A former Mace staffer (Witness 1), in a verbatim OCC interview transcript: "So when I first started filling out these forms, the Congresswoman and the Chief of Staff would always talk about how it doesn't even come close to covering her living costs. And so when they checked over, I made sure that they never went over her current living costs. So the max out was, according to them, accurate."
Refusal to cooperate. The following individuals refused to cooperate with the OCC's review: Rep. Mace, former chief of staff Daniel Hanlon, and former staffers Lorie Khatod and Richard Chalkey (¶12, ¶34).
Subpoena recommendation (¶35). "The Board recommends that the Committee on Ethics issue subpoenas to: Rep. Mace; Daniel Hanlon; Lorie Khatod; and Richard Chalkey."
Applicable law. The OCC identified potential violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (false statements), 18 U.S.C. § 641 (conversion of public money), 31 U.S.C. § 1301 (purpose of appropriations), and House Rule 23, cls. 1 & 2.
Mace's response
Rep. Mace denies the allegations. Her counsel, William M. Sullivan Jr., characterized the OCC report as "fundamentally flawed" in a December 17, 2025 response letter, asserting that it "appears to incorporate unverified assertions and materials that may have originated from, or been influenced by, Rep. Mace's former fiancé", citing what Sullivan characterized as "a documented history of abusive and retaliatory conduct." That characterization is Mace's defense position.
On March 6, 2026, Mace told The Daily Signal: "this is probably retaliation for Epstein, let's be honest" and "When you fight the swamp, the swamp fights back." She also told ABC News 4 that she "incurred over $100,000 in lodging expenses in DC and received approximately $29,000 after taxes in reimbursements." Mace's office publicly criticized OCC lead investigator Omar S. Ashmawy, citing a personal matter reported in 2015 as settled; that characterization is Mace's and is not independently confirmed here.
Timeline
| Date | Event | |------|-------| | Oct. 4, 2023 | Mace fundraises on Fox Business in the Capitol Rotunda; Campaign for Accountability files OCE complaint | | ~May 21, 2025 | OCC opens preliminary review (Review No. 25-5681) | | Jun. Aug. 2025 | OCC second-phase review; extension; review period ends Aug. 18 | | Nov. 18, 2025 | OCC Board votes 6-0 to refer; "substantial reason to believe" finding | | Dec. 1, 2025 | OCC Report transmitted to the House Committee on Ethics | | Jan. 16, 2026 | Ethics Committee acknowledges referral; announces initial extension | | Mar. 2, 2026 | Ethics Committee publicly releases OCC report; announces continued expanded review | | Mar. 4, 2026 | House votes 357-65 to refer H.Res. 1100 back to committee (effort to force release of sexual-harassment settlement records) | | Mar. 6, 2026 | Mace calls the probe "retaliation for Epstein" in The Daily Signal | | Ongoing | Committee review continuing; no finding of a violation |
Adjacent strands
Two related ethics matters share the broader context:
2023 Rotunda fundraising complaint. On October 4, 2023, Mace appeared on Fox Business in the Capitol Rotunda during the vote to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy and said, "You're damn right I'm fundraising off of this right now because the establishment is coming after me." The Campaign for Accountability filed an OCE complaint the following day. Federal law bars soliciting donations "in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties." See the Rotunda fundraising dispatch.
H.Res. 1100, harassment settlement records. On March 4, 2026, the House voted 357-65 to refer back H.Res. 1100, a resolution that would have directed the Office of Compliance and Workplace Rights (OCWR) to release records of sexual-harassment settlements funded by taxpayers. Separately, a May 2026 OCWR subpoena disclosed settlements totaling more than $300,000. See the H.Res. 1100 dispatch.
Sources
Document of record: OCC Report and Findings, OCC Review No. 25-5681 (PDF, 13 pages), full rendered report at /court-filings/mace-ethics-investigation.
Official:
- Ethics Committee Chairman/Ranking Member Statement (Mar. 2, 2026)
- OCC Report, ethics.house.gov (PDF)
- Ethics Committee Extension Statement (Jan. 16, 2026)
News coverage: Roll Call · The Washington Post · Washington Examiner · WIS-TV · Newsweek · The Daily Signal · ABC News 4 · The Post and Courier · Roll Call, H.Res. 1100
See also: House Ethics Investigation, wiki hub · Court-filings hub: OCC Review No. 25-5681
The OCC referral and the House Ethics Committee's review are investigative proceedings. The OCC's "substantial reason to believe" finding is the referral threshold, not a determination of wrongdoing. The Ethics Committee has made no finding that Rep. Mace violated any law or House rule. Rep. Mace denies any wrongdoing. The OCC Report and Findings (OCC Review No. 25-5681) was released publicly by the House Committee on Ethics on March 2, 2026, and is reproduced here as a public official record.
On the Record
Mace fundraises in the Capitol Rotunda on live TV; ethics watchdog files complaint
On October 4, 2023, Rep. Nancy Mace appeared on Fox Business from inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and told viewers she was fundraising off the political moment in real time. Federal law bars soliciting campaign contributions in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties. An ethics watchdog filed a complaint with the OCE the next day.
OCC Board votes 6-0 to refer Mace over reimbursement practices
The bipartisan Office of Congressional Conduct voted unanimously to find 'substantial reason to believe' Rep. Nancy Mace engaged in improper reimbursement practices, referring the matter to the House Ethics Committee.
House Ethics Committee extends Mace reimbursement review, sets March deadline
The House Committee on Ethics announced it was extending its review of Rep. Nancy Mace's lodging reimbursement practices, with a next step due by March 2, 2026. Mace said she had spent over $100,000 in D.C. lodging costs and received far less in reimbursements.
Ethics Committee releases OCC report: Mace billed the max, exceeded actual costs by $9,485.46
The House Ethics Committee publicly released the OCC's full report finding substantial reason to believe Rep. Nancy Mace claimed the maximum allowable lodging reimbursement every month she filed, exceeding the D.C. property's actual expenses by $9,485.46 across four months in 2024. Mace, her former chief of staff, and two other former staffers all refused to cooperate. The OCC recommended subpoenas for all four.
Mace: ethics probe is 'probably retaliation for Epstein, let's be honest'
Four days after the House Ethics Committee publicly released the OCC report, Rep. Nancy Mace told The Daily Signal the investigation was likely retaliation for her push to release the Epstein files and attacked the OCC's presenting official by name.
House votes 357-65 to block Mace's push to release congressional harassment settlement records
Rep. Nancy Mace's H.Res. 1100 sought to force the release of records on taxpayer-funded sexual-harassment settlements paid on behalf of House members. The House voted 357-65 on March 4, 2026 to refer the resolution back to the Ethics Committee, shelving it. Mace's own office was later subpoenaed in May 2026 by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, which disclosed over $300,000 in settlements.