COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – One of the biggest stories recently in South Carolina was the “mystery” $1.8 billion reportedly found in a state account.

However, a financial accounting report showed the supposed $1.8 billion was an accounting error.

Following the report, both the former Comptroller General and State Auditor resigned, but Treasurer Curtis Loftis remains in office.

Treasurer Loftis has testified several times under oath since the report was released, emphasizing that the error was not his mistake.

Recently, a Senate Subcommittee led by Senator Larry Grooms (R – Berkley) published a report, finding that the state’s finances were in shambles under Treasurer Loftis’s leadership.

On Wednesday, the Senate approved the request of a hearing on April 21, where Loftis and his lawyers will speak in front of the Senate in an effort to potentially remove him.

But first, the House will need to decide if they host a hearing of their own. If both chambers conduct a hearing and two-thirds of each chamber vote to remove Loftis, he will be removed. He said he plans to use his current lawyers and outside staff, but expressed concern about discussing such complex issues in just three hours.

Loftis, who is serving his fourth term as state treasurer since being elected in 2010, announced his re-election campaign on Wednesday.

In his campaign announcement, Loftis accused the subcommittee of a “campaign of slander and libel.”

In the past, Loftis said that he was planning on retiring and not running again.

Even if Loftis gets removed, he can still run for re-election in 2026. It would be the first time in two centuries that South Carolina would remove a statewide elected official from office.

7NEWS interviewed Treasurer Loftis to discuss the report, the mysterious $1.8 billion and his re-election campaign.

Loftis said the calls to remove him from office doesn’t make him “feel good.”

“There’s not a penny missing,” Loftis said. “People don’t go to jail over accounting entries. People don’t get thrown out of office over an accounting problem.”

While Loftis acknowledged the importance of correct accounting work for South Carolina, he said context must be considered.

A 58-page report released last week on the accounting error said South Carolina’s books have been inaccurate for 10 years and continue to not be corrected. The state paid $7 million to forensic accountants who eventually determined the missing money was not cash the state never spent, but instead was a series of errors in balancing books and shifting accounts from one system to another that were never reconciled.

The state should “not consign the ongoing fiscal oversight — the banking and investment functions of our state — to continued incompetence. In sum: if the treasurer cannot keep track of the treasury, then he should not remain treasurer,” senators wrote in their report that included more than 600 pages of exhibits.

When asked about the millions paid to forensic accountants to determine the origin of the state’s accounting error, Loftis said it’s ultimately hurting taxpayers.

“It’s inside Columbia. If you sit in other places, you don’t know about all this once that once 99% of the people, once they find out there’s no missing money, they don’t care,” Loftis remarked. “It’s here in this town is where they’re doing damage to the state, and they’re doing it because they want this office, and I’m not going to give it.”

So, why did Loftis declare his bid for re-election on Wednesday? He said the Senate subcommittee’s report was the optimal time to announce the campaign.

“I thought this was all going to blow over and I was ready to retire. I had this office in perfect shape,” Loftis said. “This office is under fire. They want to control this office. The senate cannot control this office. This is a constitutionally elected office. We’re in the Executive Branch. I’m not giving this office up to the Legislative Branch. It’s an executive branch. I’m going to stay and fight.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.