Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch has appealed her lawsuit against State Auditor Shad White to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
Last week, Fitch filed the appeal after Hinds County Chancellor Dewayne Thomas dismissed her lawsuit on Dec. 13 to stop White from suing Brett Favre to recover approximately $729,000 in interest and principal Temporary Assistance to Indigent Family Funds he received in the Mississippi welfare scandal.
The lower court’s order dismissing the lawsuit rejected Fitch’s arguments that only her office had the right to file a lawsuit against Favre to recover the TANF dollars, and found that White had the right to to file a lawsuit against those who refused orders from his office.
Favre has already returned the $1.1 million he received to the state. It is the interest White owes according to Favre.
The appeal is just the latest episode in a story of legal and political jousting between the accountant and AG. Both White and Fitch are contenders for the 2027 gubernatorial race.
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Reeves ready to oppose Medicaid expansion ‘every step of the way’
After a ceremony to formally cast the state’s ballots and then send them to Washington, D.C., Republican Gov. Tate Reeves told reporters he is willing to do just about anything to stop Mississippi from expanding Medicaid.
“If the Legislature gets the votes to approve the expansion of Obamacare in our state, I plan to veto it,” Reeves said.
As governor, Reeves has the power to veto any expansion bill that comes across his desk at any time. However, during the 2024 session, the Legislature worked tirelessly to pass some form of Medicaid expansion in the Senate and House of Representatives, and will likely do so again this year, with a two-thirds veto-proof majority. political flagpole and past Reeves as he vetoes.
Session votes 2024: Reeves vetoes elections, appropriations for cities and government agencies
At that point, it will be up to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, under newly elected President Donald Trump, to approve whatever program the Legislature approves in 2025, which will likely include a controversial work requirement.
Reeves could theoretically spend some of his political capital lobbying the Republican president to direct his new Medicaid director to deny Mississippi’s plan and halt expansion.
In the past, Trump’s first administration was generally accommodating on labor requirements, while President Joe Biden’s was not.
“I don’t think it’s going to land on my desk, but I’m going to fight it every step of the way,” Reeves said in response to a question about whether he would lobby Trump to deny an expanded Mississippi Medicaid program. a work requirement.
Rep. Shanks softens plan to replace MS statues in Washington DC
High-ranking Republicans on DC Statues: Republicans are joining forces to change the Confederate statues representing MS in Washington
Last week, state Rep. Fred Shanks, R-Brandon, told the Clarion Ledger that he is no longer enthusiastic about legislation to replace two of Mississippi’s representations in Washington, D.C.: Confederate-era statues currently in Statuary Hall.
Those two statues are Jefferson Davis, a U.S. Senator and, most importantly, President of the Confederate States of America, and James Z. George, a Confederate politician, military officer, and namesake of George County.
Bills to replace them or create a commission to come up with replacement ideas died during the 2024 committee meeting.
Earlier this year, Shanks told the Clarion Ledger in an interview that he wanted to work on some form of legislation to address the issue by 2025. Now he will consider such a bill only if House Speaker Jason White, R-West, takes it to the House Rules Committee, which he chairs.
“If that’s something the speaker wants to do, and it gets sent to my committee, then we can look at it,” Shanks said. “There wasn’t much talk about it during the offseason. The main thing we’re focused on is tax cuts.”
White has declined to comment on the issue of Confederate statues in Washington, D.C., in the past, but he did help champion efforts to replace the state flag in 2020, which previously contained an emblem of the Confederate battle flag.
Shanks also championed changing the flag during the heated 2020 debate.
Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: State politics: AG Fitch appeals accounting case to MS Supreme Court
