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Biden’s federal appointments stall in Mississippi, other southern states

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Biden's federal appointments stall in Mississippi, other southern states

As enters his third year in office, Mississippi still lacks his appointments for two U.S. attorneys, two U.S. marshals and a federal judge in the northern district.

Biden made nominations for three of the positions in the fall, but Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith did not return “blue slips” — the longstanding by which home senators approve the president's picks before Senate confirmation hearings are held.

Biden will have to resubmit nominations to the new Congress.

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One of the appointments in limbo is Todd Gee for the U.S. attorney in the Southern District. If confirmed, Gee will inherit the ongoing welfare fraud investigation, one of the largest public corruption cases in state history. He currently serves as the deputy chief of the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, which prosecutes cases of public corruption, such as bribery of public officials.

Three people connected to the fraud have pleaded guilty to federal charges and have agreed to aid the prosecution in its ongoing probe, which is unlikely to take further shape until a permanent U.S. attorney is in place.

While naming Gee in September, Biden also nominated Michael Purnell, lieutenant and executive officer of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, and Dale Bell, a professional protection officer in the private sector, to serve as the north and south U.S. marshals, respectively. Hyde-Smith and Wicker have not indicated whether they the nominations.

The president has not selected a U.S. attorney or a federal judge for the Northern District of Mississippi to replace U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mills, who entered senior status in 2021.

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Biden, who received nearly 540,000 votes in Mississippi, has failed to fill many vacant federal positions across the South and in states with two Republican senators.

“It's more complicated now than it used to be,” said Trent Lott, Mississippi's U.S. senator from 1989 to 2007. “You have a Democratic president, you have two Republican senators, and you have a Democratic congressman, only one …The bottom line is, because you've got the divided , it's kind of slowing down things to a slow walk trying to up with people that the Democrats like that the senators can accept.”

Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott remembers some of the issue differences he had with the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., during a reception for House Majority Whip U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., in , Miss., Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. However, Lott also recalled how strong their friendship was, and how supportive McCain would be on common issues.

Lott recalled entering the Senate in the late 1980's and consulting longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, who told the incoming senator, “Elections have consequences.”

Regardless of party affiliations, if the nominee is qualified, you should vote aye, Lott remembered Cochran saying.

“The atmosphere in Washington these days does not contribute to that kind of atmosphere, quite frankly. It's very, very partisan, very divided,” Lott said.

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The U.S. Southern District has lacked a U.S. attorney for much of the federal welfare investigation, which began when State Auditor Shad White turned over information gathered during his own investigation to federal authorities after making arrests in February of 2020. Former U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst resigned in January of 2021 and interim U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca has led the office since.

Another empty seat exists on the traditionally conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Appels, which covers Mississippi, and and represents the last step before an appeal reaches the . There are eight district court judge vacancies in these states, none of which has pending nominations.

Across the country there are 87 total judge vacancies and 23 pending nominations.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Senate committee passes Medicaid ‘expansion’ bill that leaves hundreds of millions in federal dollars on table

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mississippitoday.org – Sophia Paffenroth and Taylor Vance – 2024-03-27 16:39:21

The only surviving expansion bill in the passed the Senate Medicaid Committee Wednesday and is headed to the full Senate for a vote. 

But the proposal, as it passed the Senate committee, is not considered traditional “expansion” under the Affordable Care Act, and therefore would not qualify for the enhanced federal funding the law grants to newly-expanded states. It would leave the cost of the expanded coverage up to the .

The Senate committee passed the House Republican bill with a strike-all, meaning it replaced the bill's original language with its own plan, which Medicaid Committee Chairman Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, refers to as “expansion light.”

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Blackwell estimated about 80,000 people would be eligible under this version of expansion, and half of that would apply. The House plan was expected to more than 200,000 people.

When a draft of the Senate's bill was leaked on March 20, Blackwell stressed to Mississippi that he and Senate leaders were still tweaking parts of the legislation. However, the legislation that passed the committee is essentially the same as what was outlined in the leaked draft. 

The Senate proposal would:

  • Cover working Mississippians up to 99% of the federal poverty level. For an individual, that would be an annual income up to $15,060. For a family of four, that would be an annual income up to $31,200.
  • Not cover those making between 100% and 138% of the federal poverty threshold — not even through a private-care option. A plan that doesn't cover people making up to 138% is not considered “expansion” under the Affordable Care Act, meaning Mississippi wouldn't qualify for the 90% federal match rate that the Affordable Care Act grants to new expansion states, nor the additional, two-year 5% increase in match rate the federal government provides to newly-expanded states under pandemic relief spending passed by Congress. Instead, as was the case with Georgia, Mississippi would only get its regular federal Medicaid rate of about 77%.
  • Leave the health insurance exchange, the online marketplace that offers federally subsidized plans to people who make between 100% and 138% of the federal poverty level, intact. The Senate plan, unlike Arkansas' Medicaid expansion, would not extra subsidies from the state's federal Medicaid money available from the ACA.
  • Include a work requirement mandating at least 120 hours of employment a month in a position for which health insurance is not paid for by the employer. That's more stringent than Georgia's plan, which mandates 80 hours a month. There are several exemptions, such as for full-time students or parents who are the primary caregiver of a child under six years old.
  • Go into effect 30 days after the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approves a waiver necessary for the work requirement. That's unlikely to happen under the Biden administration, which has rescinded work requirements previously approved for other states during the Trump administration and has not approved new ones. If the federal government denies the waiver, Mississippi would have to wait until a new administration took office, or sue the Biden administration. Georgia remains in litigation with the federal government over the work requirement issue, and has suffered low enrollment and missed out on millions in federal funds by not fully expanding coverage.
  • Require anyone who voluntarily dropped private insurance to wait 12 months before applying for Medicaid coverage.

Senate Democrats voiced several concerns about the administrative burden of the work requirement and the 120 hour a month minimum, which is even stricter than Georgia's plan – currently the strictest expansion plan in the country. 

Sen. David Blount, D-

Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, asked Blackwell about the enhanced match from the federal government.

“So the federal government paying our match for two years and 90% after the two years – we would not qualify for that?” Blount asked.

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Blackwell said that is correct, and they would leave that money on the table.

Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, introduced two amendments: one to decrease the recertification requirements from four times a year to twice a year, and the other to reduce the work requirement hours from 120 hours a month to 80 hours a month. 

Both amendments were voted down by Republicans, who make up a majority of the committee's membership. Despite their amendments getting shot down, the Democrats still voted in favor of the bill. Only three Republican senators in the committee voted against the plan. 

When asked about the administrative burden of enforcing the work requirement, Blackwell said he is not worried and believes the Division of Medicaid has enough employees for its implementation. 

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But Georgia, the only state currently with a work requirement in its expansion plan, has spent $26 million taxpayer dollars to ensure a mere 3,500 people to date. More than 90% of that has gone to administrative and consulting costs. 

The bill is expected to be taken to a floor vote as early as Thursday, with a deadline of April 10. 

Since the Senate plan is drastically different than the House proposal – which is a mostly-traditional expansion plan insuring those who make up to 138% of the federal poverty level and would go into effect whether or not the federal government approves a work requirement waiver – a final version will likely be hammered out later in the session in a conference committee.

Any final plan would realistically need a two-thirds majority from both chambers to show it has the potential to override a potential veto from Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who has privately told lawmakers he plans to veto any Medicaid expansion bill.

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Reeves on Tuesday night hosted around 20 state senators at the Governor's Mansion in Jackson where he, again, reiterated his opposition to any form of Medicaid expansion, according to multiple people familiar with the situation. 

At the Tuesday night , Reeves said he would veto the Senate's expansion plan if it reached his desk, though he reportedly said he approved the Senate's work requirement provisions. 

Shortly after the committee passed the expansion legislation, Reeves posted on social that the Senate plan is “still bad policy” and he will oppose it.

“And so I will continue to do what I told the voters I would do – fight Obamacare Medicaid Expansion with every ounce of my being,” Reeves said.  

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This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Michael Guidry named Mississippi Today managing editor

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Mississippi is pleased to announce Michael Guidry as managing editor.

Guidry, who joined the staff in February 2024, manages the newsroom's day-to-day reporting and plans broader editorial strategy.

He previously served as managing editor at Mississippi Public Broadcasting, where he developed skills in audio storytelling as a producer, writer and editor.

“Michael is a perfect fit for what we're building at Mississippi Today,” said Adam Ganucheau, Mississippi Today's editor-in-chief. “He's a proven newsroom leader, and he knows Mississippi. He also brings us a lot of digital and audio skills that can expect to see more of pretty quickly.”

A native of Destrehan, , Guidry moved to Mississippi to attend Millsaps College, where he earned a dual Bachelor of Arts in History and Theatre. After graduating, he worked as a public school teacher for more than a decade.

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Michael Guidry

While at MPB, Guidry helped a team that received recognitions from the Radio Television Digital Association, the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters and the Public Journalists Association.

MPB's special feature on Confederate Memorial Day – which he co-produced and co-narrated – received the 2023 Region 9 Edward R Murrow Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Guidry continues to host MPB's weekly politics show @Issue.

“As someone who spent years in a adjacent to Mississippi Today, it became evident the newsroom was quickly becoming a leader in local, nonprofit news,” Guidry said. “I could not be more to join a publication dedicated to elevating the voices of while holding power to account.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Geoff Pender named Mississippi Today politics editor

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Mississippi is pleased to announce Geoff Pender as Politics and Government Editor.

Pender, who first joined the Mississippi Today staff as senior political reporter in May 2020, will oversee the day-to-day of Mississippi Today's politics team.

He brings more than 30 years of experience covering Mississippi politics to the new role.

“If you follow Mississippi politics, you know Geoff Pender,” said Adam Ganucheau, Mississippi Today's editor-in-chief. “He's been a vital member of our politics team since 2020, and we couldn't be more excited for him to now lead it. He's been a mentor to so many of our reporters, and he's led several impactful investigations for us. can expect more of that from him in this new job— and if you're wondering, you'll also continue to see plenty of his analysis of the 's biggest stories.”

Geoff Pender

Before joining Mississippi Today, Pender was political and investigative editor at the , where he also penned a popular political column. He previously served as an investigative reporter and political editor at the Sun Herald, where he was a member of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team for Hurricane coverage.

A native of Florence, Pender is a journalism graduate of the of Southern Mississippi and has received numerous throughout his career for reporting, columns and of information efforts.

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“I truly appreciate this opportunity and appreciate being able to continue working with the great team of journalists at Mississippi Today providing in-depth coverage at such a crucial time for the state,” Pender said.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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