May 24 (UPI) — U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace said she intends to file a resolution to expel her House colleague LaMonica McIver after the Justice Department charged her with allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers.
McIver, who represents a New Jersey district after being elected in November, was arrested after footage showed her elbowing an Immigration and Customs official outside a migrant detention facility, Delaney Hall, in Newark, N.J., on May 9. She was charged Monday.
Mace, who has represented South Carolina in Congress since 2021, wrote Wednesday in a three-page resolution obtained by Axios that McIver “must be held accountable to the highest standards of conduct in order to safeguard the public’s faith in this institution.”
Mace posted on X: “Members of Congress don’t get a free pass to break the law. No one is above the law — not even you, LaMonica.”
We’re calling for the expulsion of Rep. LaMonica McIver after she assaulted an ICE agent and interfered with a lawful arrest.
Members of Congress don’t get a free pass to break the law. No one is above the law – not even you, LaMonica.
This was a disgraceful abuse of power. She… pic.twitter.com/j1F3gUcPbo— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) May 21, 2025
McIver, who has denied assaulting law enforcement and was elected to her seat in November, responded in a post on X: “In the South I think they say, ‘bless her heart.’ “
McIver has said she instead was assaulted and accused the Trump administration of a political prosecution. A preliminary hearing has been set for June 11.
The Department of Homeland Security posted video of the incident on X.
Let’s check the tape. https://t.co/1S66cGSxct pic.twitter.com/LqEFhTrnYl— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) May 11, 2025
Democrats said she has every right to conduct oversight of the detention center.
Mace said she will introduce the resolution but would let the House Ethics Committee consider it, rather than forcing a House floor vote on it.
Republican Rep. Buddy Carter, of Georgia, introduced a resolution to strip committee assignments from McIver and Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez, both of New Jersey, for their actions at the detention center.
Expulsion requires a two-thirds majority vote of the House. Speaker Mike Johnson, of Louisian,a said expulsion is “not likely” but they were “looking into what is appropriate.”
In her news release, Mace cited the expulsion of former Rep. George Santos, a Republican from New York, saying it “set precedent for expelling Members charged, but not yet convicted, of serious criminal offenses.” She voted against the measure.
In 2023, Santos was expelled in an overwhelming bipartisan vote, 314-114 with two present and eight not voting after being charged with nearly two dozen criminal counts, including wire fraud and money laundering. Santos was sentenced on April 25 to seven years in federal prison.
