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The what-ifs and domino effects of Trump appointing some Mississippians to his administration

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mississippitoday.org – Geoff Pender – 2024-11-11 04:00:00

Before the dust settled on Donald Trump’s reelection, Mississippi politicos — and some top elected officials — were discussing the what-ifs and domino effects of Trump appointing some Mississippi politicians to positions in his administration.

The one most discussed (even before Tuesday’s election, and even in Trump’s previous administration) is the potential for U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith — one of Trump’s staunchest allies on Capitol Hill — to be appointed secretary of agriculture.

Some folks close to Hyde-Smith, a longtime farmer and former Mississippi agriculture commissioner, avow the job would be hers if she wants it (although Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie is almost certainly in the running). But they’re unsure that Hyde-Smith wants it, perhaps not willing to give up the time she gets to spend in Brookhaven, albeit limited by senatorial duties.

It’s likely Hyde-Smith would have input on who is appointed to the ag post in Trump’s administration. But it’s also likely if Trump pressed her to take the job that she would be hard put not to.

Another name now being mentioned for ag secretary for Trump is Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum, former under secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and former chief of staff to the late Sen. Thad Cochran. Mississippi politicos suspect Hyde-Smith is putting Keenum’s name out for the post.

Hyde-Smith vacating her Senate seat next year would require Gov. Tate Reeves to within 10 days appoint an interim, then set a special election within 90 days. Any vacancies beyond 2025 would have different deadlines, based on past court rulings.

Reeves would likely consider appointing one of Mississippi’s three Republican U.S. representatives as interim senators, or perhaps someone like state Treasurer David McRae (who sure has been traveling the state a lot lately). But this could still create a mad rush of people running for the seat.

It would be hard to come up with a list of top Mississippi politicians who wouldn’t consider taking a “free shot” at running for U.S. Senate. The compressed election cycle would somewhat level the playing field, opening it to anyone who could raise seven figures in short order for a race. Even those with other aspirations, such as Secretary of State Michael Watson, a likely candidate for lieutenant governor in 2027, might consider a “why-not” shot at the Senate seat.

That’s all not to mention the mad rush for any special U.S. House seat election, should a sitting rep be appointed interim senator. Besides, it’s also possible one of Mississippi’s Republican House members — particularly Rep. Trent Kelly, a decorated combat veteran and major general — be appointed to a position by Trump.

Speaking of Reeves, some of the governor’s supporters have been talking up the possibility of him getting a Trump appointment. Reeves, in his second and final term, has publicly said he’s not interested in running for another office and it’s unclear what he would do after leaving office, after spending the last 20 of his 50 years in state government elective office.

President Donald Trump embraces Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves during a campaign rally at BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo, Miss., Friday, November 1, 2019. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America

Should Reeves receive a Trump appointment, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann would fill out the rest of his term as governor, a post Hosemann has expressed interest in running for in 2027.

Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a loyal and early Trump supporter who appears to have his favor, is also considered a likely candidate for a Trump appointment should she seek one. Her role in overturning Roe vs. Wade certainly raised her stock and profile with a new Trump administration.

Another Trump favorite in Mississippi is state Sen. Joel Carter Jr., R-Gulfport, who has been a big donor of the president elect. While Carter might be in line for an appointment should he want one, he’s already announced his intentions to run for Mississippi secretary of state in 2027. And, surprisingly, he’s already received Trump’s endorsement, on video, for the state election.

One person likely to play a major role in Trump choosing any Mississippians for federal appointments is former Gov. Phil Bryant, who has been close to Trump since his first term as president. It’s unlikely Bryant himself would want a D.C. position, but he would likely play an advice-and-consent role.

Gov. Phil Bryant poses with Donald Trump. Credit: Twitter

One reason Trump might look to the Magnolia State for people to appoint in his administration is pragmatic. If he were to appoint any sitting GOP members of Congress from here to positions, he could feel safe that their vacant seats would remain in Republican hands.

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

Mississippi Today

JXN Water to send notices about lead line inventory

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mississippitoday.org – Alex Rozier – 2024-11-20 17:07:00

JXN Water said Wednesday it’s confirmed no lead in about 43% of the city’s service lines, and that it will continue to investigate the remaining lines as it complies with recently updated guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency.

A representative for Jacobs, a contractor that manages the city’s drinking water plants for JXN Water, told Mississippi Today their goal is to fully determine whether there’s lead in any of the city’s nearly 75,000 service lines by 2027.

Yvonne Mazza-Lappi, water compliance manager for Jacobs, said JXN Water has so far identified nearly 14,000 galvanized iron service lines, or about 18% of the total amount. For each of those lines, she explained, JXN Water will have to find out if they were ever downstream of a lead service line, as lead particles can attach to the surface of those pipes according to the EPA. If so, JXN Water will have to replace the galvanized line.

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There are another roughly 29,000 service lines, she added, where the material is unknown.

“With this inventory, the EPA requires certain validation,” Mazza-Lappi said. “So we can’t just assume that someone’s service line is non-lead. We have to prove that. We use historical records. If we don’t have enough of those, we do build inspections.”

The EPA in October finalized a revision to its Lead and Copper rule, requiring public water systems around the country to find and replace lead service lines over the next decade.

JXN Water released a mapping tool where residents can look up their address and see the latest information for their service line, both on the customer side and the utility side. JXN Water spokesperson Aisha Carson said the utility will mail notices this week to residents that fall in the “unknown” or “galvanized” categories.

Mazza-Lappi said that so far, JXN Water has found just four lead service lines in the city, and that it replaced those lines earlier this year. She said they also offered those residents filters and will do follow-up sampling in January to make sure their water meets federal standards.

While there are still tens of thousands of lines to examine to make sure there’s no lead present, Mazza-Lappi said that their predictive modeling suggests there’s no widespread presence.

In the notices JXN Water is mailing to customers with galvanized lines or lines with unknown materials, the utility lists a number of ways to reduce the risk of lead contamination, such as letting the tap run before drinking, using a filter, or cleaning faucet screens and aerators.

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

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Mississippi Today

‘Groundhog Day has come to an end’: Appeals court orders dismissal of Jackson airport authority in lawsuit

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mississippitoday.org – Geoff Pender – 2024-11-20 12:53:00

A federal appeals court has ruled, again, that members of Jackson’s airport authority can’t sue over a state takeover of the city’s airport.

The court overruled a lower federal court decision, and ordered it to dismiss members of the airport authority in a lawsuit to block a state takeover of the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport.

“For the fourth time, Mississippi state legislators appeal a district court order compelling discovery in an eight-year-old dispute over control of the Jackson-Medgar Evers International Airport,” Judge Edith Jones wrote in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion issued Tuesday. “For numerous reasons that have percolated throughout this litigation, we conclude that the current plaintiffs, members of the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, lack … standing to sue. Groundhog Day has come to an end. Accordingly, we vacate the order of the district court and remand with instructions to dismiss.”

Jackson’s mayor and city council remain as plaintiffs, and the authority members could appeal Tuesday’s order, but the federal appeals court has appeared to make clear it doesn’t believe the challenge should be in federal court.

“This suit is nothing more than a political dispute between state and local governments over control of an airport and the land around it,” the court wrote Tuesday. “One side has dragged that fight into federal court by tricking it out in equal protection colors. That won’t fly.”

The state Legislature in 2016 passed a measure that would abolish the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority and replace it with a regional authority with members from the cirt of Jackson and Madison and Rankin counties. Currently, the Jackson mayor and council appoint JMAA’s members.

Under the new regional authority, the governor would appoint five members including one each from lists supplied by the Jackson City Council, Madison supervisors and Rankin supervisors. The lieutenant governor would appoint one and the mayor of Jackson one. The adjutant general of the Mississippi National Guard and director of the Mississippi Development Authority would also serve on the nine-member authority.

City leaders and Jackson’s lawmakers have opposed the move, and the city and authority in its litigation claimed the move was racially motivated by a group of white lawmakers and violated Jackson citizens’ voting rights. They point out state leaders are treating Jackson differently — an argument city leaders have also made on the state’s takeover of policing and courts in the downtown Jackson area and efforts by lawmakers to take over the city’s troubled water system, which is now under federal control.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves has ruled in favor of the city and JMAA several times in the airport litigation, but then has been reversed by the Fifth Circuit.

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

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Crooked Letter Sports Podcast

Podcast:  Mississippi College football is no more

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mississippitoday.org – Tyler Cleveland and Rick Cleveland – 2024-11-20 10:00:00

Monday’s news that Mississippi College will become Mississippi Christian University and discontinue the sport of football caught everyone off guard, including the Clevelands. Fred McAfee, the most famous player in M.C. history, heard the news on the radio and said he felt like he had lost a family member. The Saints, Ole Miss-Florida, and college basketball are also discussed.

Stream all episodes here.

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

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