SC Treasurer Curtis Loftis Gives Update on Senate’s Attempt to Overthrow a Duly Elected Office
During a recent address at the Greenville County Republican Women’s July luncheon, South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis discussed the ongoing efforts by the South Carolina State Senate to challenge the voting of elected officials and their attempt to overturn a statewide election.
After informing the Republican audience that he is currently on his twelfth organized investigation, Loftis emphasized the importance of standing firm against these manipulative tactics and highlighted the need to uphold the will of the voters, ensuring that the voices of "we the people" are protected.
Background of the 1.8 billion Accounting Error
The issue reportedly originated from a decade-old discrepancy that arose when South Carolina transitioned from an outdated accounting system to a new one. A series of incorrect electronic ledger entries created the false impression of $1.8 billion in unallocated funds. Although forensic accountants later confirmed that most of this amount was never actually available, the error remained in the state's records for many years.
For the first time in the state’s 237-year history, the Senate claimed the Treasurer shared responsibility for this error and attempted to remove a statewide elected official through a constitutional maneuver that bypassed traditional and lawful impeachment proceedings.
In this historic and controversial decision, a 33-8 vote, with five senators absent, the Senate voted on April 21, 2025, to remove Loftis from office over his ‘alleged’ role in this $1.8 billion accounting error. They cited Loftis with “willful neglect of duty” and failure to report the irregularity to the General Assembly.
However, the Senate’s action alone is not sufficient to remove Loftis from office. As of now, the South Carolina House of Representatives has no plans to proceed with a hearing. If they did, the State House must vote by a two-thirds majority to finalize the removal. Similar to the US Congress, it is the State House that is responsible for initiating impeachment, not the Senate. Once the House sends the case to the Senate, the Senate must conduct a judicial trial vote to approve the impeachment and effect the removal, not the other way around.
Loftis’s Explanation and Defense
After defending his commitment to his staff and their determination to continue their work despite the challenges posed by the Senate, the Treasurer remarks that, prior to Senator Hugh Leatherman's death, love him or hate him, he was known to have rules in place. Leatherman would never have jeopardized the State’s credit rating or publicly criticized state employees.
According to Loftis, all that has changed, and rules have seemingly been disregarded in the Senate chambers. He claims that he has been stripped of all the rights and privileges that are rightfully his.
The Treasurer stated that there is a statute indicating that when a committee becomes an investigative committee, the President of the Senate must formally declare it as such. Once the Senate President makes this declaration, another statute that comes into play – a statute that gives him what would be reasonably called the protection of the court. Additionally, they are required to submit the evidence and grant him some presumption of innocence.
According to Loftis, they would not allow Loftis any witnesses, and that the microphone was rigged so no one could hear him during the hearing. He stated that they undermined his rights by not making the investigation an official committee, which meant they were not obligated to provide him with the protections typically afforded in such cases. In other words, they used manipulative maneuvering tactics to remove an elected official who won 80% of the vote in the last general election in 2022.
After reminding the audience that our Constitution affords us the right to confront our accusers. He stressed that he did not know who his accusers were, but suggested that maybe it was Senator Larry Grooms, who was the ringleader of the Senate accusations and who almost expelled Loftis’s lawyer because the lawyer refused to swear in again, having already done so as a lawyer in the State of South Carolina.
Loftis explained that on the night of the big hearing, each Senator was allotted ten minutes to question the besieged Treasurer. Prior to the hearing, Loftis’ lawyers negotiated with Senate lawyers to ensure that there would be no pre-printed or prearranged questions. However, when the Treasurer arrived, it turned out that they all had pre-printed questions.
Senator Ed Sutton, who is currently an Air Force officer in the reserves, spoke for ten minutes during the meeting. The Senator referred to a report by Alex Parker, claiming that it stated the Treasurer’s office had made false entries in the records. He was adamant about what the report said. Loftis knew the significance of the report. So, he took a few moments to verify its contents and found that it did not say that. The report did not contain that information.
During a short break, Loftis called the Senator over to the Senate bar and asked if he could see the report he was referencing. The Senator responded, “Oh, I don’t have it.” Loftis said he was interested in the word “false,” to which the Senator replied that he made that up. Loftis then stated that he believed the Senator was covering for someone else who had written the questions distributed to several Senators for the ten-minute questioning sessions.
He pointed out that they took no oath. The Senate had no burden of fairness or equity of responsibility. They were the court, the judge, the prosecutor, and the jury. They could do whatever they wanted.
The Treasurer said that they were able to get the SC Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom to resign, and in all fairness, the mistake was in his office, but added that he didn’t fully appreciate what happened to Eckstrom.
In 2023, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster appointed Brian J. Gaines, a Democrat, as a recess appointment while the South Carolina General Assembly was not in session. When the General Assembly reconvenes, they will vote on whether to appoint a permanent comptroller general or to retain Gaines in the position until the next election.
Loftis told the crowd that Gaines is a Democrat puppet, and he works 100 percent for the Republican-controlled Senate. He indicated that this office has now been weaponized and gives the Senate full control over it. Loftis stated that the Senate aims to exert the same control over the State Treasurer's office. That is why they want to remove him – to gain full control over the State’s accounting and the taxpayers’ money.
Loftis has firmly stated that he is not going anywhere, even though it has already cost him $102,000 personally. He has no personal ties that would be impacted by his decision to stay in the fight; his parents have passed away, he has been divorced for a long time, and there is no Curtis Junior floating around. He considers himself a free agent.
The Treasurer says that they are now “mad at the College Savings Plan,” despite starting with $1 billion, and now it is $7 billion. They want him out of it. He is the unpaid spokesperson for the firm, and even though he has tried to get out of the actual commercials, it has been a longstanding tradition for all South Carolina Treasurers to participate in these ads since the College Savings Fund law was established, given that the Treasurer's office oversees its administration.
Loftis says that he is on record for his management of SC’s $75 billion bank, and his record is clean. While the Senate is saying the books do not balance, he points out that there have been clean audits from individuals, independent sources, from Deloitte, and CliftonLarsonAllen. His office also got consulting contracts from the State Senate, which his office had cleared. Loftis also pointed out that they had received their highest credit rating while they negotiated and dealt with international credit agencies, and an AAA Credit rating.
Despite recently completing his eleventh investigation and now facing a twelfth inquiry by a former FBI special agent who specializes in financial crimes and is currently serving as the SC Inspector General, he intends to remain in his position. This marks the third time the Inspector General has been called to investigate, and he and his office were cleared in the first two instances.
He shared that when he stepped out and started engaging with voters, many were in disbelief about the situation. Loftis noted that even some Democrats were skeptical. He quickly realized that South Carolina voters have an unfavorable view of the Senate. Additionally, financial donors who have supported the Senate Caucus for approximately 30 years have indicated they will no longer contribute. Loftis also mentioned that some State Senators came to his office expressing regret about their votes on the matter.
The Treasurer said that the Senate made it up, and there was never a bank account with $1.8 billion. He said, “Not one penny or dime was missing, misspent, or misappropriated. It was all appropriations. It was budget dollars. It was dollars that were invented for the software to run.”
He also pointed out that his office is regulated by the federal government, the state government, and interstate contracts. He added that they are registered by federal treaties and with other countries for their investments. Loftis stated that they have hundreds of partners who balance every month and some who balance every night, such as Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, to mention a few. If we are out, they are out.
According to Loftis, he is haunted constantly thinking that if they can do this to him, they could do this to Supreme Court Justices, Circuit Court Judges, and solicitors.
He claims he is seeking reelection because the people's money matters to him. Interestingly, although he campaigned during his first race for the South Carolina Treasurer's position to be appointed rather than elected, he has since changed his stance. After six months in office, he came to the realization that he had been mistaken.
Loftis stated that, besides the Senate wanting control of the $75 billion, another reason the Senate is after him is that they never forgot when he exposed their engineered $249 million a year in hidden investment fees to New York City. Not a single taxpayer, not a single member of the SC House, and not even some SC Senators knew what they were doing. He figured it out and blew the whistle, and told the New York Times. The Times published a 3,500-word article on the issue. Once it became public, it was discovered that this was occurring nationwide. He claimed that this sealed his fate.
The embattled Treasurer said he had plans to retire. He had already bought a place in Colorado. He was ready to walk. But after having gone through this, he said I cannot let them have and control the taxpayers' money. He cannot give up when he is needed the most.
The question remains: Will South Carolina voters make a statement at the ballot box in 2026 to preserve the integrity of one of their favorite public servants? The people have already expressed their views in the last election, where Loftis received 80% of the vote. Could this overwhelming support be the reason the Senate is so eager to remove Loftis? Their actions may suggest that if he wins again after their attempts to oust South Carolina’s chosen bank guard, it could send a strong message that the Senate is now vulnerable.
The Senate is devoting a substantial amount of energy to their campaign to remove Loftis, but it may become their own grave they have dug. As it has been said, “Those who throw mud at others are the ones losing ground!”
