Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) moved to censure Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) after an alleged “backdoor” deal sparked outrage on Capitol Hill.
Mace’s resolution would censure Mills for “alleged stolen valor, arms deals he’s under investigation for, and alleged abuses toward women,” as she aims to remove him from the House Armed Services Committee.
“When you’re accused of assaulting women, profiting off federal contracts from your congressional seat, and inflating your military record, you have no business shaping America’s defense policy,” Mace wrote on X. “This isn’t about party lines, it’s about integrity. No more hiding behind the establishment to protect abusers and grifters. This is swamp behavior at its worst.”
Mills has been accused of domestic violence, stolen valor over a Bronze Star he claims he was awarded, and of financial misconduct that was outlined in a House Ethics Committee report earlier this year. Mills has denied any wrongdoing.
“Congressman Mills is committed to complying with all laws and ethics rules and is pleased that the Federal Election Commission recently dismissed a complaint with similar allegations,” a Mills spokesperson wrote to the Washington Examiner at the time. “We trust the House Ethics Committee will come to a similar conclusion.”
The censure comes after an outraged group of Republican women said three Republicans voted with all Democrats on Tuesday to halt the censure of Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI) over her text messages with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2019.
“Three Republicans crossed the aisle and voted with Democrats to stop the Plaskett censure resolution in a swap so that Democrats would not bring up the Cory Mills (R) censure resolution for alleged physical assaults and threatening to release pornography on an ex-girlfriend and ethics violations and questionable military record,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) alleged in a post on X.
Greene was not the only one who implied a “backroom” deal. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) wrote on X that “the swamp protects itself,” later adding that she refuses to protect a corrupt Republican.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Mills said, “It has become obvious in recent months that Democrats have been using me as a political pawn. So, with full transparency, my team and I fully expected that a vote to censure me would be brought to the floor yesterday. We prepared for it. But it never came, which surprised us just as much as anyone else. And let me be perfectly clear: there was no backroom deal, no negotiation, and no quid pro quo of any kind that would have forced the Democrats to stand down on that vote against me. Anyone pushing that narrative is simply wrong.”
Mace made her proposal a privileged resolution, forcing GOP leadership to act on the matter within two legislative days, with a vote expected later this week.
Democrats threatened to bring three censures against Mills in retaliation for resolutions against their own members but dropped their efforts after motions against those Democrats failed. Mills has been involved in many controversies, most recently when a judge granted a restraining order to his ex-girlfriend after she accused Mills of threatening and harassing her.
This all comes after multiple pushes to punish members of Congress during their first full week back after being in recess for the entire government shutdown.
“There’s a long list of Republicans worthy of censure, a long list of Republicans, not enough time in the legislative calendar if Republicans want to go down this road of censuring members or throwing them off committee,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) told the Washington Examiner.
Rachel Schilke contributed to this article.
