Bennie Thompson

Congressman Bennie Thompson has represented Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993 (103rd Congress-Present). Thompson is the longest-serving African American elected official from Mississippi and the lone Democrat in the Mississippi Congressional Delegation. Before coming to Congress, Thompson served as alderman and mayor of his hometown, Bolton, Mississippi. He was also a founding member of the Mississippi Association of Black Mayors. In Congress, Thompson serves on the Committee on Homeland Security (current ranking member and former chair). He also has served on the Agriculture, Budget, and Small Business committees as well as on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. In 2000, Thompson authored legislation creating the National Center for Minority Health and Health Care Disparities, which subsequently became law. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, he pushed for greater accountability at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Thompson is the founding member of the bipartisan Gulf Coast Recovery & Rebuilding Caucus in the House of Representatives. As chair of the Committee on Homeland Security, Thompson introduced and engineered the passage of the most comprehensive homeland security package since September 11, 2001-H.R. 1, the “9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007.” Thompson earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Tougaloo College and a master’s degree in Educational Administration from Jackson State University.