Nikki Haley didn't even last a year on the Boeing board, but she made one heck of a headline.
She quit last week after the aircraft maker openly sought $60 billion in government aid and loans for the aerospace industry amid the economic damage from the new coronavirus.
It was an ask the former Republican S.C. governor — and widely rumored 2024 presidential hopeful — could not stomach.
Criticism came quickly: How could she not back taxpayer assistance for Boeing when, as governor, she signed $120 million in state incentives so the same company could expand its North Charleston plant?
Easy, her people say: Haley does not like bailouts — words that will work well in a White House bid.
"She supports a pro-business climate that can include incentives for businesses to expand and create jobs. It’s why South Carolina was known as the 'the Beast of the Southeast' when she was governor," Haley spokeswoman Chaney Denton said in a statement.
"That's night and day different from a taxpayer-guaranteed bailout for faltering companies or institutions," Denton added.
Haley beat a GOP challenger in the 2010 governor race who voted for the Wall Street bailout, abstained on voting on $12 million for S.C. State University and vetoed a $40 million aid package to farmers after the 2015 flood.
"Government should help everyone grow; it should not pick winners and losers, " Denton said.
But that's the very argument made by critics of economic incentives for years.
Still, Haley's willingness to walk away from a highly compensated board seat has made a strong impression among conservatives that could linger, say, for another four years.
"Nikki and I have not always seen eye to eye, but I respect her for doing that," said Joe Taylor, S.C. commerce secretary under past Gov. Mark Sanford. "We need more of that — someone willing to forego $350,000 a year for a core conviction."
Rice sells stock amid virus-induced plunge
U.S. Rep. Tom Rice says he not a big stock market guy.
But the Myrtle Beach Republican was the only member of the S.C. congressional delegation to sell shares as coronavirus fears began gripping the country. This issue made headlines on word that senators from North Carolina and Georgia sold millions in stock ahead of the market collapse.
Rice sold his stock later than the senators. He sold shares in General Electric, InMode, Shopify and Teledyne Technologies on Feb. 24, the first day of the major stock market downturn, according to congressional financial disclosures.
While acknowledging an expected increase in cases, Rice said in a statement Feb. 28, "The risk of infection in the United States today remains very low. There are only 60 confirmed cases in a nation of over 300,000,000 people. ... In 70 to 80 percent of cases the symptoms are mild."
Rice said his statement was based briefings provided to Congress and he did not get any inside information that was not shared publicly.
Rice said his son told him to sell the shares that he bought for $40,000 in the past year as the market fell last month. "It went down so much."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.6 percent on the day he sold he shares, the biggest one-day drop over the previous 12 months.
The congressman checked boxes on his disclosure form showing he recouped less than $200 in capital gains from his sales of General Electric and Shopify shares.
"I lost money on a couple of them," he said of his sales.
Losses aside, stock prices got so low in the COVID-19 slump this month that Rice ended up buying some shares of ExxonMobil.
College presidents call violated meetings law
A group of South Carolina college presidents held a teleconference Thursday with representatives of the S.C. Commission on Higher Education to discuss how to handle the coronavirus outbreak.
Some schools had already decided to take classes exclusively online for a few weeks, but the number of cases were growing.
After the meeting, the colleges announced they would end in-person instruction for the entire semester and postpone commencements.
The call was described in government circles as a meeting of the Council of Presidents, a group of college leaders formed by the higher ed commission under state law.
While it meets rarely, the council has sent out notices under the state's open-meeting laws. Thursday's gathering was not announced, but should have been, according to a South Carolina media attorney.
"In times of crisis, public officials need to resist the urge to take shortcuts lest they destroy their credibility," South Carolina media attorney Jay Bender said.
Commission Director Rusty Monhollon took responsibility, saying he did not think it was an official council meeting.
"It wasn't our intention to violate the law," he said.