U.S. Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) held a public town hall at Greater Grove Street Missionary Baptist Church in Warren County on Tuesday evening.

Thompson spoke about the current state of the federal government, covering topics including the privatization and defunding of essential services, disruptions in the federal workforce, and the implications of undermining due process.

“The budget we just voted on cuts  Medicaid (by) $880 billion. Okay, that’s a big number. Now somebody’s going to have to decide what gets cut and what gets left on the table,” Thompson said. “And in all likelihood, the people who need it the most are the ones who will feel the hurt the most. And so part of what we’re doing at town halls is trying to educate people that these are the things coming down the path.”

Thompson also spoke about recent and ongoing layoffs of federal employees by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“Most of the government employees that I know are real challenged right now. And one of the reasons we picked Warren County to start (the town halls) was because, proportionately, we have more people who work for the federal government in this county… than any other county I represent,” Thompson said. “So you have significant reason to be concerned about your job.”

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is currently in limbo as attempts by DOGE to shut the organization down have been halted by a federal judge. Thompson spoke about the impact a shutdown of the organization would have locally.

“Now let’s talk about a little program called USAID, a tremendous program. They thought it only fed hungry people in third world countries,” Thompson said. “They do, but guess who raised the food? Talk to the rice farmers here in Mississippi. Talk to the rice farmers in Louisiana. Their number one customer is USAID.”

Thompson also addressed ongoing and coming lawsuits against actions taken by the Trump administration and DOGE.

“Thank God for the lawyers who are taking all these decisions to task,” he said. “We have over 100 lawsuits that have been filed by various organizations and I tell you, we win. We won one today that’s saved 5,000 people. They’ve got to bring them back to work.”

Throughout the town hall, Thompson called on concerned voters to actively engage their representatives and to make their voices heard.

“I’ve been in Washington for over 30 years now, and I’ve never seen it as bad as it is right now. You know, we pick leaders, we change leaders, that’s how democracies work. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but you never give up hope,” he said. “And a democracy means that people can live out the true meaning of happiness. It doesn’t matter who’s there. Well, I wish that was the case right now.”