South Carolina’s Public Health Chief Steps Down After Rough Ride

South Carolina just wrapped up its 2026 legislative session, and with it, the state’s top public health official is packing up his desk. Dr. Ed Simmer, who took charge of the Department of Public Health during the pandemic, left the building on May 14 when the legislature refused to give him a permanent stamp of approval. His exit came just hours after the General Assembly called it quits for the year. The governor’s office made it clear: without that formal green light from lawmakers, Simmer couldn’t keep his job past the final gavel. Simmer wasn’t some rookie in state politics. He’d been running public health efforts since 2021, even leading the agency’s split from the larger Department of Health and Environmental Control. Before that, he logged years as a Navy doctor, earning respect for his medical knowledge. But respect in the ivory tower doesn’t always translate to street-level support. Conservative voices in the state turned up the heat, calling him out for pandemic-era decisions on masks and vaccines. Things got so heated that Simmer once showed up at a Senate hearing with a damaged car—allegedly vandalized in what looked like a crude bomb scare. The moment highlighted just how messy the politics around his leadership had become.Governor McMaster stood by Simmer despite the noise. He argued that Simmer’s background—think emergency medical work and hurricane response—made him the right person to lead during tough times. But McMaster also struggled to quiet critics who kept comparing Simmer to a well-known federal health advisor. The governor pushed back hard, insisting there was no real basis for those attacks. “He’s not some villain, ” McMaster told reporters in early 2025. “I don’t see what people are so upset about. ” Still, the pressure grew, and Simmer’s time in the spotlight turned into a target practice for opponents. The final push came from a bill that started as routine paperwork but ended up as a clear exit sign for Simmer. Lawmakers tweaked the language just enough to make sure he’d have to leave by May 14. The bill bounced around the House and Senate right up to the last day, proving that in politics, timing is everything. By the time the gavel fell, Simmer’s shoes were already empty. The Department of Public Health stayed quiet when reporters asked questions, leaving everyone to wonder what comes next for the agency—and for public health in the state.