COLUMBIA — Gov. Nikki Haley is making her first out-of-state political appearance this week since her administration announced a cyber breach affecting millions of South Carolina taxpayers.
At noon on Tuesday, Haley is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at Heritage Foundation luncheon in Chicago. The foundation is a conservative think tank. The agenda for the gathering doesn’t list a topic for Haley’s speech, but a preceding panel discussion will be focused on policy priorities following the election. The Chicago trip is actually the second out-of-state journey Haley has taken since she knew about the massive breach at the S.C. Department of Revenue.
The Secret Service alerted state officials to the breach on Oct. 10. Haley attended a Republican Governors Association retreat from Oct. 19-21 in Napa, Calif. Her administration publicly announced the breach on Oct. 26. The governor has said the timing of the announcement was dependent on clearance from law enforcement.
Chicago won’t be Haley’s only stop this week. On Wednesday morning, she’ll be a guest speaker at an RGA breakfast. Later that morning, the governor will meet with members of the S.C. congressional delegation. Last week, Haley said she intended to talk with the delegation about strengthening Internal Revenue Service policies that would require states to encrypt Social Security numbers. The governor blamed the breach in part on the lack of that requirement.
Haley will have the chance to start that discussion Tuesday, according to her spokesman Rob Godfrey. Godfrey said Haley and the delegation will discuss cyber security strengthening the state’s ports, illegal immigration reform and economic development projects “she needs their help on.” Godfrey said Haley will not hold a fundraiser as part of the out-of-state swing.