'Absolute no': Proxy voting is a dereliction of 'constitutional duty,' Nancy Mace says

With 218 lawmakers backing the move, it has enough support to force a vote.

"I'm an absolute no on any and all proxy voting. It's wrong," Mace told Fox News Digital.

"We have a job. We have a constitutional duty to show up here and work, and we should."

Asked whether any exceptions should be made for new mothers and fathers in Congress, Mace answered, "Nope, none, zero."

"As a woman and as a mom, I want to make it on my own merit," she added. "I don't want to be given an exception for anything. I want to be able to make here like any man would."

"Doing it based on merit and making the standards be the same, I think that's good for our country. It's good for those who are willing to risk their lives, put their lives on the line for their fellow countrymen," she said.

"I love what Pete Hegseth is doing," she added. "I think he's doing a remarkable job, and he's bringing so much transparency to DOD and the Pentagon. And where they failed, then he is trying to pick up the pieces and put it back together, including how men and women are treated in uniform and how we are combat-ready."

Despite changes to standards, Mace predicted a "major uptick with recruitment" in all military branches under Trump and Hegseth's leadership, saying, "I think we've got great things to come. Our enemies should be scared."