Mace voices frustration with House GOP leaders in NYT op-ed, arguing they’re marginalizing rank-and-file members and women

By Arlette Saenz, CNN

(CNN) — Republican Rep. Nancy Mace criticized House GOP leaders, arguing they have marginalized rank-and file members, including women, in a New York Times op-ed published Monday.

“Speaker Mike Johnson is better than his predecessor. But the frustrations of being a rank-and-file House member are compounded as certain individuals or groups remain marginalized within the party, getting little say,” she wrote.

“Women will never be taken seriously until leadership decides to take us seriously, and I’m no longer holding my breath. Since 2013, the Republican conference chair position has gone to a woman. It’s the token slot, the designated leadership role for the top woman in the conference, while the real power lies in other offices.”

The South Carolina congresswoman, who is running for governor, painted Republican leaders as ineffective, arguing that Nancy Pelosi, Democrats’ longtime House speaker, more greatly understood how to use the power of her office when her party was in control.

“Here’s a hard truth Republicans don’t want to hear: Nancy Pelosi was a more effective House speaker than any Republican this century,” Mace wrote. “I agree with her on essentially nothing. But she understood something we don’t: No majority is permanent. When Democrats hold the majority, they ram through the most progressive policies they can. They deliver for the coalition that elected them while they are in power.”

“Republicans do the opposite. We get the majority, then become petrified of losing it. We pass the most moderate policies we can pressure conservatives to accept, betraying the coalition that delivered us here,” she continued. “Ms. Pelosi was ruthless, but she got things done. The current House is restrictive and ineffective, control with barely any results. Republican leadership seems intent on replicating her model of consolidation without her bold vision to push through the policies that won us the majority.”

Mace warned that without action, her party will lose control of Washington. “Today Republicans have a governing trifecta: the House, the Senate and the White House. If we fail to pass legislation that permanently secures the border, addresses the affordability crisis, improves health care and restores law and order, we will lose this majority. And we will deserve it,” she wrote.

Mace, who helped oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his position, is part of a growing chorus of Republican lawmakers publicly voicing frustration with Johnson’s leadership. Last week, Johnson defended himself against accusations from female lawmakers in his GOP conference that he has undercut and marginalized them, arguing that he’s their “biggest champion.”

“I think it’s a spurious claim. I think there’s no foundation in it whatsoever. You know, people get frustrated, people say things and there’s a lot of people trying to stir division and dissension here,” he told CNN on Thursday.

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