In a dramatic escalation of internal Republican strife, South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace has launched a formal campaign to censure Florida Rep. Cory Mills and strip him of his coveted House committee assignments, citing a barrage of ethical, legal, and personal misconduct allegations that have dogged Mills throughout 2025. The move, which Mace made official on November 19, sets the stage for a high-stakes showdown in the House, as GOP leaders face mounting pressure to respond decisively to the allegations swirling around one of their own.
According to reporting from Florida Politics, Mace’s campaign began with a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, in which she laid out a comprehensive list of accusations against Mills. These include claims of stolen valor, domestic abuse, harassment, and arms deals with both the U.S. government and foreign nations while serving in Congress. Mace’s letter argued that Mills’ continued presence on the House Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Foreign Affairs poses a clear conflict of interest and potential illegality, given his private business dealings. “Given the gravity of these allegations against Mr. Mills, the clear conflicts of interest and potential illegality presented by his business dealings, and the potential implications on U.S. national security and foreign policy, we urge you to take action to remove Mr. Mills from the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs,” Mace wrote.
Mace’s privileged resolution, as detailed by The Hill, compels House leadership to act within two legislative days, likely ensuring a vote by the end of the week. The resolution catalogues a year’s worth of controversy for Mills, including a restraining order granted by a Florida judge after an ex-girlfriend accused him of harassment and threats to release intimate photos. Mills has denied these accusations, as well as many of the other claims referenced in Mace’s resolution.
Democratic lawmakers have threatened to censure Mills three times in recent months, but each effort was ultimately abandoned, largely as a tit-for-tat response to failed Republican attempts to censure Democrats such as LaMonica McIver, Ilhan Omar, and most recently, Stacey Plaskett. The latest failed censure vote against Plaskett on November 18, which saw three Republicans break ranks and three others vote present, has only deepened suspicions that party leadership is cutting backroom deals to shield vulnerable members from disciplinary action. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, took to the House floor to voice her frustration, asking, “I was wondering if the Speaker of the House of Representatives can explain why leadership on both sides, both Democrat and Republican, are cutting back-end deals to cover up public corruption in the House of Representatives for both Republican and Democrat members of Congress.”
The allegations against Mills are not limited to personal misconduct. As Breitbart News reported, the Office of Congressional Conduct found in August that companies owned by Mills secured nearly $1 million in federal contracts for munitions and weapons since January 2024, while he served in Congress. The OCC concluded, “There is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Mills may have entered into, held, or enjoyed contracts with federal agencies while he was a Member of Congress in violation of House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law.” Mace’s resolution also points to reports that one of Mills’ companies, Pacem, sold munitions to foreign countries including Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and Colombia during his tenure on the committees overseeing military aid and arms sales policy.
Perhaps the most explosive claims concern Mills’ military record. Mace’s resolution references reporting in The Daytona Beach News-Journal and her own investigation, which included a call with retired Brigadier General Arnold N. Gordon-Bray. Mace wrote, “When questioned about his Bronze Star, Mr. Mills produced a DA Form 638 recommending him for the award, which included a signature from then-Army Brigade Commander Arnold N. Gordon-Bray. However, Retired Brigadier General Bray disputes having signed such a recommendation for Mr. Mills. We actually spoke to General Bray who acknowledged he did not physically sign the form, nor did he read it prior to his signature being affixed on the form 638.” Furthermore, five individuals who served with Mills, including two men he allegedly saved, disputed Mills was involved in their rescue or provided life-saving care. One sergeant reportedly called the account a “fabrication.”
Allegations of domestic violence have also been central to Mace’s case. In a February 2025 incident detailed in a Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department report and cited by Mace, Mills’ girlfriend accused him of grabbing, shoving, and pushing her out of his apartment. Officers at the scene observed fresh bruises on her arm and reportedly overheard Mills instructing the woman to lie about the origin of her injuries. While the alleged victim later recanted her claims and the investigation was closed without charges, Mace maintains the seriousness of the original report. Mills, for his part, “vehemently denies any wrongdoing whatsoever, and is confident any investigation will clear this matter quickly,” his office stated to NBC News.
In July, another former partner, Lindsey Langston—a Republican state committeewoman and Miss United States pageant winner—accused Mills of threatening to release intimate photos and videos of her and to harm her future romantic partners. In October, a Florida court granted Langston an order of protection against Mills, with the judge finding “reasonable cause to believe that she is in imminent danger of becoming the victim of another act of dating violence without an injunction being entered.”
Speaker Mike Johnson has so far resisted calls for immediate action. In comments to reporters last month, Johnson described Mills as “a faithful colleague here,” and said, “I know his work on the Hill. I mean, I don’t know all the details of all the individual allegations and what he’s doing in his outside life. You have to ask him.” When pressed about the October protective order, Johnson brushed off concerns, urging reporters to “talk about something serious instead.”
The political calculus is complicated by divisions within both parties. As Axios reported, some Democrats are wary of supporting Mace’s measure out of concerns for due process, with a senior House Democrat remarking, “People want consistency and [are] tired of leadership just protecting ours.” Meanwhile, several Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Anna Paulina Luna, have voiced support for disciplinary action against Mills, with Luna stating on the House floor that Mills should not seek reelection.
Mace has been adamant that her effort is not about partisanship but about restoring trust in Congress. “A Member of Congress accused of assaulting women, profiting off federal contracts from his seat, and inflating or falsifying his service record has no business anywhere near national-security committees,” she said in a statement, as reported by Breitbart News. “This isn’t about partisan politics, it’s about protecting the integrity of this institution and the safety of women.”
With a vote expected imminently, the fate of Cory Mills—and the message Congress sends about accountability—hangs in the balance. The coming days will reveal whether lawmakers are willing to break with party lines and address the mounting controversies head-on, or if partisan maneuvering will once again take precedence over institutional integrity.
