Nancy Mace privately rages against GOP anti-abortion measure — then votes for it anyway

Author and right-wing firebrand Ann Coulter, who is anti-abortion and supported the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, has been warning fellow Republicans that passing ultra-severe abortion bans is hurting them politically in key swing states. And she reiterated that warning in April after liberal Janet Protasiewicz enjoyed a double-digit victory over far-right Christian nationalist Dan Kelly in a Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

Coulter tweeted, "Pro-lifers: WE WON. Abortion is not a 'constitutional right' anymore! Please stop pushing strict limits on abortion, or there will be no Republicans left."

But for Republican lawmakers, the pressure to go along with draconian abortion bans can be intense — so intense that, according to Politico's Daniella Diaz, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) privately raged against a GOP-sponsored anti-abortion measure only to end up voting for it later.

House Republicans proposed reversing the Biden Administration's policy on reimbursing women serving in the U.S. Armed Forces for travel costs they incur when seeking abortions. Mace, according to Diaz, was overheard slamming the bill in an elevator on Thursday, July 13, saying, "We should not be taking this f—--g vote, man. F—…. It's an a—--e move, an a—--e amendment."

Coulter isn't the only one on the right who believes abortion has become a major liability for her party. Diaz notes that Mace "has long been at odds with her own party over its attempts to go further right on abortion, complaining that the party is alienating moderate voters after the overturning of Roe v. Wade and potentially endangering its House majority in the process."

The conservative Mace, who has had a bitter feud with far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), has been willing to buck the MAGA wing of her party on occasion. But she easily caves into pressure, and The Bulwark's Joe Perticone called her out for her abortion vote in a July 14 tweet. Responding to Diaz's reporting, Perticone wrote that Mace was "quickly shaping up to be one of the most disingenuous members of Congress."

Attorney Robert Courie saw Perticone's tweet and wrote, "Who controls your primary and how safe is their gerrymandered district? That's all that matters. Unintended consequences of reducing competition for elected office."