The State House Gavel: SC public health nominee responds to COVID critics, details threats

Happy Friday.

We have wrapped Week 10 of the South Carolina legislative session — meaning the General Assembly is more than halfway through the session that ends on Thursday, May 8.

You're reading The State House Gavel, a daily reporter notebook by reporters Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney and Maayan Schechter that previews and captures what goes on at the South Carolina Statehouse this year while lawmakers are in session.

Notebook highlights:

• After months of waiting, Gov. Henry McMaster's nominee to run public health, Dr. Edward Simmer, had his first confirmation hearing in the Senate, where he sharply defended himself against critics of his response to the COVID pandemic.
• The Senate is slated to drop its $1.8 billion error report and recommendations after months of hearings.
• A new episode of This Week in South Carolina that talks about the latest happenings in the Statehouse.

SCETV

Dr. Edward Simmer, Gov. Henry McMaster's nominee to lead the newly-created Department of Public Health, directly responded to critics on Thursday in his first Senate confirmation hearing.

Reading from a 14-page opening statement, Simmer took head on the social media and on-the-record criticism of him after he became director of the former state Department of Health and Environmental Control in 2021 as the state responded to the COVID pandemic.

Here are a few excerpts from Simmer's opening remarks:

• “Enemy of medical freedom, health czar, not a real doctor, (and) evil.' These are just a few examples of what has been said about me. Nothing could be further from the truth."
• "I strongly support medical freedom and the sanctity and value of the physician-patient relationship."
• "Another completely false allegation I have seen are signs that say you should 'Stop Simmer' in order to 'Stop (a) Repeat of 2020 COVID Shutdowns.' I was not even here in 2020."
• "However, multiple research studies have shown the vaccine is very effective at reducing the risk of both hospitalization and death, which is very important. In fact, among South Carolinians, recent data shows that the vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalization by 40%."
• "I have never prioritized any mandates, and I will continue to preserve and defend South Carolinian freedoms and individual rights; I always have and always will."

You can watch Simmer's full opening statement below:

As we reported this week, Simmer's nomination to run the some 2,000-employee DPH has been mainly dogged by criticism over his handling of the state's COVID response, in part around the areas of vaccinations and mask-wearing.

Some of those critics sat behind Simmer at his hearing. Several wore red with stickers with a line through Simmer's face.

And on Thursday, it was clear by the lines of questioning by so far two Upstate Republican senators — Greenville's Tom Corbin, who asked about the vaccine, and Spartanburg's Josh Kimbrell, who asked about the politics of COVID and Dr. Anthony Fauci, for example — that COVID will be among if not the top issue for the Republican-controlled 17-member committee.

Simmer also acknowledged why he wore a mask longer than others — a choice he's often been criticized for online.

"Many of you know that my beloved wife of 35 years, Peggy, is at very high risk from COVID-19 due to underlying medical conditions. Her medical team recommended that she and I mask during the height of COVID-19," Simmer said. "Contracting COVID-19 could be life-threatening for Peggy. Some have expressed outrage and have even mocked me for wearing a mask. Whether or not to wear a mask should be a personal choice."

He added, "There is nothing in this world that is more important to me than my wife and her wellbeing. I made the personal choice to wear the mask to protect her"

Look ahead: Simmer spoke to reporters after the hearing, responding to a series of questions about his opening statement strategy, why he wants to stay on the job and other aspects of the job — which include inspections and tackling health issues from bird flu to drug abuse, maternal mortality rate, cancer and diabetic amputations as examples.

"DPH is about much more than COVID. And, although I can't give you an exact number, I would say maybe 1 or 2% of our time is spent on COVID," Simmer said.

Simmer also testified and spoke to reporters about threats he's received, like threatening letters and an act of vandalism to his car, with a device, he said, "that I think was a very crude attempt to make something look like a bomb."

(As to the latter threat, a State Law Enforcement Division spokesperson said SLED is not involved.)

Kimbrell told Simmer while the two don't always agree, he called the threats against Simmer "despicable and wrong."

"I would never condone or support that in any way," he said.

Where McMaster stands: McMaster has repeatedly publicly defended Simmer's nomination, calling him uniquely qualified for the job and his critics "off base." On Thursday, at least eight directors of the governor's Cabinet, including SLED Chief Mark Keel, sat behind Simmer in support.

What's next: There is no set date yet for Simmer's next confirmation hearing. Senate Medical Affairs Chairman Danny Verdin, R-Laurens, said Thursday that at least eight senators had raised their hand to ask questions.

Per Senate rules, the standing committee meets the first or third Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. Otherwise it's at the call of the chair and subject to the public records law.

SCETV

At the start of the session in January, outside audit firm AlixPartners released a report into the $1.8 billion accounting error that has ensnared multiple state departments.

That report detailed how most of that nearly $2 billion was indeed not real money. The report said that the fund originated in the state Treasurer's Office, but found some degree of shared responsibility for the error in all three offices that oversee the state's finances: the offices of the treasurer, comptroller general and auditor.

Next week, the Senate Finance Committee is slated to release its own report after months of hearings that have now narrowly focused on the elected state treasurer himself.

Republican Berkeley Sen. Larry Grooms, whose budget panel led the inquiries, has told reporters that their report is expected to include a recommendation that Treasurer Curtis Loftis be removed.

That recommendation comes after several meetings with Loftis, who has refused to step down, and his top staff.

This week, ahead of the report's release, Loftis's office released an op-ed from the treasurer that said, in part, "This isn’t accountability — it’s a power grab. If they can’t beat me at the ballot box, they want to change the rules so they can control billions of public dollars for their own special interest."

Early this week, McMaster told reporters removal is not necessary.

In March 19 letter to Grooms from Senate President Thomas Alexander and Senate Finance Chairman Harvey Peeler, the Upstate Republicans wrote that the state's central financial systems are "areas which are clearly under the scope of the subcommittee."

"This is well within the charge and latitude of all subcommittees of the Senate Finance Committee that are given under Chairman Peeler, the Rules of the South Carolina Senate, statutory authority and constraints, and constitutionally granted and mandated legislative checks and balances over the executive branch," the pair wrote in the one-page letter provided to SC Public Radio. "Any assertion to the contrary would be outside the realm of reasonable thought."

New Thursday: The state Treasurer's Office in an email confirmed treasurer's office chief of staff Clarissa Adams, who testified before Grooms's panel, and deputy state treasurer and general counsel Shelly Kelly are both retiring this summer.

In an email, a treasurer's office spokesperson said their exits had "been planned for some time."

Adams has worked for the state for 41 years, Shelly 35 years.

"I know the Treasurer is grateful for their dedication and public service to the citizens of South Carolina," communications director Karen Ingram said. "... We are implementing our transition plan now and will announce the new members of our leadership team at the appropriate time."

Regular Gavel readers will enjoy Friday evening’s episode of This Week in South Carolina.

Host Gavin Jackson will be joined by fellow Gaveler Maayan Schechter and the Associated Press’s Jeffrey Collins to give an update on the legislative session as time ticks to sine die.

You can catch the episode on ETV at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and on YouTube.

SCETV

• Snake lovers want to keep deadly serpents at their homes, businesses, despite SC concerns (The State)
• South Carolina wants a 'DOGE' style commission. It already has one. (Post and Courier)
• Stuck in traffic? SCDOT has a new plan. And a price tag. (SC Daily Gazette)
• Delusions or domestic terrorism? Will a death row inmate’s anti-government views save him? (The State)
• SC 787 Dreamliner maker Boeing doing 'pretty good' in face of tariffs, exec says (Post and Courier)
• SC’s Mace knocks Evette’s joke about husband wanting to be a lifeguard. Here’s the context (The State)
• South Carolina public health chief’s confirmation hearing overshadowed by COVID anger (AP)
• Insurance crisis is stopping new restaurants from opening, restaurateurs say (SC Daily Gazette)
• Viral video sparks outrage, renewing call for action on SC Hate Crime Bill (WCSC)