Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves’ brother helped coordinate retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre’s plans to repay $1.1 million in Temporary Assistance For Needy Families funds tied to the state’s massive welfare scandal, text messages the governor’s campaign revealed today show.
Brett Favre will remain a defendant in the State of Mississippi’s civil lawsuit designed to recover millions in misspent welfare funds, the Mississippi Supreme Court decided in an order Wednesday.
Working Mississippians who want health care coverage need “better, more higher-paying jobs” that provide quality private insurance, not Medicaid expansion, Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said at the Neshoba County Fair as he traded barbs with Democratic opponent Brandon Presley.
Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has sued Mississippi Today, alleging that the online news publication and its CEO defamed him by claiming he “embezzled,” “squandered” and “steered” $77 million in welfare funds “to benefit his family and friends, including NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre.”
Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is demanding more retractions and apologies from Mississippi Today, a nonprofit newsroom that has focused much of its reporting in recent years on his role in the state’s $77-million welfare scandal that occurred while he was in office.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves still has not returned campaign donations from Nancy New and Zach New, two of the criminal defendants in Mississippi’s $77-million welfare-fraud scandal, as Associated Press reporter Emily Wagster Pettus reported on May 30. His campaign says it will hold onto the funds until litigation surrounding the scandal wraps up.
Brandon Presley, the Democratic candidate for Mississippi governor, sought to reframe the Mississippi welfare scandal as “Tategate” in a May 25, 2023, press release, implying Gov. Tate Reeves played a central role in the scandal.
The State of Mississippi has used nearly $2 million in federal Temporary Assistance For Needy Families welfare funds to pay auditors and lawyers as part of its effort to recover millions in misspent TANF funds since 2021, state records show.
Mississippi Today CEO Mary Margaret White apologized today for claiming that former Gov. Phil Bryant “embezzled” welfare funds.
Mississippi Journalism and Education Group is a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization (EIN 85-1403937) for the state, devoted to going beyond partisanship and publishing solutions journalism for the Magnolia State and all of its people.
125 S. Congress Street #1324
Jackson, MS 39201
[email protected]
[email protected]
601-362-6121
The Mississippi Free Press is a project of the Mississippi Journalism and Education Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit journalism organization (EIN 85-1403937).