Lorie Khatod
Former chief of staff to Rep. Nancy Mace (November 2023, October 2024), hired after the firing of Dan Hanlon during a period of total D.C. office turnover.
Lorie A. Khatod, PhD, served as chief of staff to Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC-01) from November 2023 through October 2024. A 22-year Department of Defense civil servant and military spouse, Khatod holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from the University of Oklahoma. She was brought on to lead the office following the December 1, 2023 firing of Mace's previous chief of staff, Dan Hanlon.
Connection to the Nancy Mace record
Khatod's tenure coincided with what multiple news outlets described as total turnover of Mace's Washington, D.C. office. According to The Daily Beast (February 2024), nine staffers departed the office in roughly three months after November 1, 2023, eight voluntarily and one (Hanlon) by termination. When asked about the exodus, Khatod responded with a text message: "New coach, new team in the DC office," a quote reported by The Daily Beast and Salon.
Khatod became the subject of public reporting in connection with an incident involving Hanlon's departure. According to reporting by Slate's Jim Newell (June 2024), Capitol Police arrived at Mace's office on approximately December 4, 2023, around the time Hanlon had been scheduled to collect his belongings. Former staff members told Newell they believed the police presence was intended to intimidate Hanlon and that they had not witnessed him make any threats. Khatod had instructed Hanlon to retrieve his belongings on that day. Mace's office did not confirm the characterization offered by former staffers; the matter is disputed. Raw Story published Newell's account on June 10, 2024.
LegiStorm's congressional staff database records her tenure as November 2023 to October 2024. Following her departure from Mace's office, Khatod's LinkedIn profile reflected activity in connection with Mace's 2024 re-election campaign.
Khatod is named in a publicly filed court affidavit (Berg v. Bryant, Case No. 2025-CP-10-03124, filed December 22, 2025 in Charleston County Court of Common Pleas) as someone with "potentially relevant information" in that litigation. That filing is part of the public court record.
The House Ethics Committee publicly announced on March 2, 2026 that it is investigating Rep. Mace for alleged improper housing reimbursement practices from January 2023 to May 2024, a period that overlaps in part with Khatod's service as chief of staff. The committee's statement did not name Khatod in its public release. Mace has denied the allegations.
Sources
- LegiStorm, Lorie A. Khatod biography (congressional staff database)
- The Daily Beast, "A Major Sign of Trouble in Nancy Mace's Office: Total Staff Turnover" (February 2024)
- Salon, "She's a joke: Nancy Mace's ex-aides spill the beans after entire staff bails in just 3 months" (February 5, 2024)
- Raw Story, "Nancy Mace used Capitol cops to 'intimidate and humiliate' fired chief of staff: report" (June 10, 2024, reporting by Slate's Jim Newell)
- New Republic, "Nancy Mace Is So Toxic That Her Entire Staff Ditched Her"
- House Ethics Committee, Statement regarding Rep. Nancy Mace investigation (March 2, 2026)
- Berg v. Bryant, Case No. 2025-CP-10-03124, Affidavit filed December 22, 2025 (Charleston County Court of Common Pleas, public record)