U.S. Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) departs following a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on a bipartisan war powers resolution aiming to stop the military campaign against Iran, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 5, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
President Donald Trump's White House raged at a MAGA lawmaker on Wednesday because of her efforts to organize rescue missions for Americans stuck in the Middle East following Trump's decision to bomb Iran last month.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who was one of Trump's most fervent supporters until the administration's mishandling of the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, has been unilaterally organizing rescue missions in the Middle East without the White House's approval, The Guardian reported. One mission in particular that has caught the White House's ire is Mace's outreach to Saudi Arabia to get a jet to transport 300 people out of the region.
A White House official told The Guardian that Mace was "trying to exploit" the situation for her own gain, and may have "complicated" negotiations in the region.
"Separately, officials said, Mace, who is currently running for South Carolina governor, encouraged a group of Americans to relocate from a high-risk region to Jordan without a clear plan for onward travel," the report reads in part. "That forced the state department to send a plane to pick up the group as it found itself stranded in Jordan."
"White House officials have complained that Mace was complicating an already fraught process where some diplomats and travelers have accused the administration of not evacuating U.S. citizens fast enough," it added. "They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational details."