Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) left a closed-door House Oversight Committee meeting with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday, visibly distressed and in tears. The lawmaker later disclosed that the testimonies triggered a panic attack.
Video footage showed Mace wiping away tears as she exited a Capitol hallway crowded with reporters. She declined to comment at the time but later posted on X that she experienced hyperventilation, shaking, and difficulty breathing during the meeting.
“As a recent survivor (not 2 years in), I had a very difficult time listening to their stories. Full blown panic attack. Sweating. Hyperventilating. Shaking. I can’t breathe,” Mace wrote. She added, “I feel the immense pain of how hard all victims are fighting for themselves because we know absolutely no one will fight for us. GOD BLESS ALL SURVIVORS.”
Six survivors met with members of the Oversight Committee, including Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), as part of the ongoing probe into federal handling of the Epstein case. Lawmakers reported learning additional names of individuals of interest who may provide further information.
Speaker Johnson described the session as “heartbreaking and infuriating,” citing outrage over delayed justice since Epstein’s death in 2019 while in federal custody in Manhattan. He emphasized that the accounts highlighted persistent failures in protecting victims of sexual exploitation.
Mace has previously spoken about her own experience of sexual assault. In February, she alleged in a House speech that her ex-fiancé and three other men committed sexual crimes, including rape and voyeurism, against her and multiple women, some minors. She said she discovered thousands of videos and images on her former partner’s phone, which the accused parties have denied.
The Epstein meeting has renewed calls for government transparency. Representatives Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) have co-sponsored a discharge petition demanding the Department of Justice release all Epstein-related files. The petition requires 218 signatures to advance to a House vote.
Mace has joined Representatives Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in signing the petition, signaling growing bipartisan pressure for disclosure of information linked to Epstein’s activities and associates.
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