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The State House Gavel
The State House Gavel shares updates about the South Carolina General Assembly, including legislative actions, debates and discussions. Featuring news and interviews, so you have access to the latest developments in policy and decisions that shape South Carolina’s future.

The State House Gavel: McMaster becomes SC's longest-serving governor

South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter,
Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney
Published January 29, 2025 at 6:01 AM EST
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, left, takes the oath of office as his wife, Peggy McMaster, and other family members look on at his second inaugural on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
Meg Kinnard/AP
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AP
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, left, takes the oath of office as his wife, Peggy McMaster, and other family members look on at his second inaugural on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

Statehouse reporters Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney and Maayan Schechter are back at the Capitol reporting what you need to know when lawmakers are in Columbia. They'll post news, important schedules, photos/videos and behind-the-scenes interviews with policymakers.

Happy Wednesday.

And welcome to what appears to be the busiest legislative day, with seemingly includes every hearing on the S.C. House schedule set for 10 a.m. and, later tonight, Gov. Henry McMaster will deliver his eighth State of the State.

The S.C. Senate will continue its debate over the education private school voucher bill using Education Lottery dollars.
We still expect a final vote likely on Thursday.

This is The State House Gavel, a new daily reporter notebook by reporters Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney and Maayan Schechter that will preview and capture what goes on at the South Carolina Statehouse this year while lawmakers are in session.

Notebook highlights:

  • Gov. Henry McMaster will give his penultimate State of the State address as he becomes the longest-serving governor in state history.
  • President Donald Trump hit pause on federal grants and loans on Tuesday, sending organizations and states into a tizzy after they discovered they could no longer access needed federal aid. What that means for South Carolina.
  • If you're a $1.8 billion epic accounting error nerd, then Wednesday's hearing featuring the state Treasurer Curtis Loftis is a must watch.

McMaster makes history

It is a big day for South Carolina.

An even bigger day for Gov. Henry McMaster.

The Richland Republican became the longest-serving governor in South Carolina history ahead of Wednesday night's State of the State.

About McMaster: If you're from South Carolina and kept up with South Carolina politics, you've heard of McMaster. And if you haven't kept up with South Carolina politics, you honestly might still have heard of McMaster.

The man has seemingly held nearly every public position in this state — and then some.

He was the chair of the state GOP. He was the state's attorney general and was picked by President Ronald Reagan to be South Carolina's U.S. attorney. He also served as lieutenant governor, which is how we get to get to his historic tenure.

Flashback: McMaster was the first statewide elected official in the country to endorse President Donald Trump in 2016. Soon after his election, Trump returned the favor. On Jan. 24, 2017, McMaster became governor after then-Gov. Nikki Haley was picked by Trump to be his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. McMaster then became the 117th governor of South Carolina. 

FILE - Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump gestures with South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster during halftime in an NCAA college football game between the University of South Carolina and Clemson Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
Chris Carlson/AP
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AP
FILE - Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump gestures with South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster during halftime in an NCAA college football game between the University of South Carolina and Clemson Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)

Flash forward: McMaster successfully fended off a runoff to win his first four-year term in 2018, then easily slid to reelection in 2022. And while he will go down in the history books for his length of service, it's worth knowing what all he's done in office.

  • He oversaw big economic development deals, including the Scout Motors plant in Blythewood.
  • He led South Carolina through the COVID-19 pandemic, through many natural disasters and the $9 billion V.C. Summer nuclear scandal.
  • His tenure includes an economic boon and massive population growth, making South Carolina one of the fastest-growing states.
  • He's enjoyed a collaborative relationship with the Legislature, which has resulted in many of the governor's priorities turning into successes, including more money for teachers, school resource officers and conservation efforts.
  • He oversaw Republican growth in the Legislature — both chambers now have GOP supermajorities — which has led to more expansive school choice legislation, less restrictive gun laws and a tighter abortion ban.

McMaster has also faced criticism during his tenure, including when he vetoed a 2017 gas increase, (which was overruled and has since resulted in billions of dollars of road work).

Via the AP's Statehouse reporter Jeffrey Collins: South Carolina’s McMaster is now the longest serving governor at the job he loves

What to know about the SOTS

South Carolina ETV and South Carolina Public Radio will broadcast the State of the State, starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

After McMaster's speech, state Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-Colleton, will deliver the Democrats' response. (Bright-Matthews is one of two women who currently serve in the Senate.)

For lawmakers: Sorry, but this year we are skipping the individual interviews after the live broadcast. We will, however, be taping an episode of This Week in South Carolina.

Please don't @ us.

What we're looking for: The State of the State is a yearly event, giving the governor an opportunity to use the bully pulpit to ask the Legislature to embrace his agenda and executive budget. Most of what McMaster will call on lawmakers to do Wednesday night will be a match of what he's already asked for in his budget. But, every year, there's always an attempt at a memorable line. Last year, McMaster said he would fight unions "to the gates of hell" and, the year before, he called on the General Assembly to fix the judicial election system and give the governor more say.

So, in short, we expect a zinger. About what? He won't say.

Trump order sends agencies, states into a panic

President Donald Trump on Tuesday hit the pause button, quite literally, on federal grants and loans utilized by organizations and states.

It resulted in a very dizzying affair as states realized they were unable to access federal aid necessary to continue service programs, like Medicaid and Head Start.

That included South Carolina.

We asked the state's Department of Health and Human Services whether the agency had experienced any problems as a result of Trump's order.

The pause has since been halted by a federal judge.

But it created serious panic for many states.

Per the Associated Press: "In Mississippi, Early Head Start program director Katina Spaulding sent an emergency text message asking parents to come and pick their children up for the day. Her center had to stop operating because they could not access money to stay open, she said.

“Our families are being punched in the gut three times from different angles,” Spaulding said. “This is so heartless.”'

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Alex Brandon/AP
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AP
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Treasurer in budget panel hot seat

It's the House's turn Wednesday morning to hear from state Treasurer Curtis Loftis.

Though it's routine for the treasurer to come before the Ways and Means Committee to lay out his budget requests, this of course will be a unique budget hearing.

It'll be the first time House members get to quiz Loftis about the not so mysterious $1.8 billion (most of which is not real).

The auditor's office and the comptroller general's office also will be called on to testify. And, remember, this is a week after now-former auditor, George Kennedy, resigned following the 2023 resignation of the former comptroller, Richard Eckstrom.

That hearing is at 10 a.m. in the big, roomy Blat Room 110.

Now over in the upper chamber, senators are wasting little time in implementing recommendations made by an outside audit firm after its review of the state government’s recent $1.8 billion accounting error.

Senate Finance Committee members voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a joint resolution, which instructs the offices of the state treasurer, comptroller general and auditor to immediately begin to adopt the recommendations and to provide monthly, public reports of their progress.

The Washington, D.C.-based forensic auditing firm, AlixPartners, presented its findings to the General Assembly two weeks ago.

The firm says the Legislature should implement these recommendations to avoid accounting errors such as the ones that began in 2016 but were not rectified fully until 2023, and how the state’s top financial offices should better coordinate managing the state’s finances and accompanying financial data.

The firm’s report also recommends the state hire an outside compliance monitor that will make monthly reports to the General Assembly and the public on the progress of the financial offices implementing the recommendations.

Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, who chairs a Senate panel which has budget oversight of the three financial offices, on Tuesday repeated his call for Loftis to resign.

The AlixPartners report and Grooms’s panel report from last year both conclude that the initial problem which led to the accounting errors and financial misstatements appear to have originated in the treasurer’s office.

Loftis has repeatedly denied that and denied calls to step down.

Treasurer Curtis Lofits provides more than five hours of testimony before a Senate Finance subcommittee on April 2, 2024 over a $1.8 billion discrepancy.
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Provided
Treasurer Curtis Lofits provides more than five hours of testimony before a Senate Finance subcommittee on April 2, 2024 over a $1.8 billion discrepancy.

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Maayan Schechter
Maayan Schechter (My-yahn Schek-ter) is a news reporter with South Carolina Public Radio and ETV. She worked at South Carolina newspapers for a decade, previously working as a reporter and then editor of The State’s S.C. State House and politics team, and as a reporter at the Aiken Standard and the Greenville News. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated from the University of North Carolina-Asheville in 2013.
See stories by Maayan Schechter
Gavin Jackson
Gavin Jackson graduated with a visual journalism degree from Kent State University in 2008 and has been in the news industry ever since. He has worked at newspapers in Ohio, Louisiana and most recently in South Carolina at the Florence Morning News and Charleston Post and Courier.
See stories by Gavin Jackson
Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney has 30 years of experience in radio news and public affairs. He is a former broadcast news reporter in Spartanburg, Columbia and Atlanta. He served as Press Secretary to former S.C. Governor Dick Riley for two terms, and for 20 years was the chief public affairs officer for the University of South Carolina.
See stories by Russ McKinney