GOP Rep Flip-Flops on 'Asshole' Abortion Bill: Just Travel
William Vaillancourt ·
Mace was overheard in an elevator calling a DOD abortion-travel reimbursement amendment 'an asshole move, an asshole amendment,' then voted for it when the measure came to the floor. She was confronted by CNN's Kaitlan Collins about the hypocrisy, generating the 'being assholes to women' clip.
"being assholes to women"
, Rep. Nancy Mace, overheard in an elevator describing the DOD abortion-travel amendment before she voted for it
William Vaillancourt reported for The Daily Beast on one of the most vivid self-contradictions in Mace's congressional record. In a candid elevator exchange before the vote, Mace had been overheard calling a Department of Defense amendment that would eliminate reimbursements for service members traveling out of state to obtain abortions "an asshole move, an asshole amendment." The recording and characterization became public.
When the amendment came to the floor, Mace voted for it.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins then confronted Mace directly about the reversal. In the televised exchange, Mace defended her vote with the argument that travel itself remained available:
"Nothing in here would prohibit a woman from traveling out of state to follow state law."
The defense did not address the core inconsistency, that she had privately described the measure as hostile to women and then supported it publicly. The confrontation with Collins produced the widely-circulated clip of Mace using the phrase "being assholes to women" in a congressional context.
The episode became a reference point in subsequent reporting on Mace's relationship with abortion politics, including her later positioning as a self-described moderate on reproductive rights during the 2026 governor campaign.
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