Mississippi Today: Senate confirms U.S. attorney Todd Gee, who will inherit historic Mississippi welfare probe

By Anna Wolfe and Matt Laslo

Notable: Follow-up to Anna Wolf’s 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Friday voted to confirm the appointment of Todd Gee to run the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, which is overseeing what officials have called the largest public fraud case in state history.

At a time when appointments to the U.S. Department of Justice have been particularly politicized amid the prosecution of former President Donald Trump, Gee’s confirmation was pushed through with help from Mississippi’s senior U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker.

The Senate confirmation comes more than a year after President Joe Biden appointed Gee to the post.

“I talked to my colleague and friend Roger Wicker about Mr. Gee,” said Sen. J.D. Vance, a Republican from Ohio who previously worked to block any appointments to the nation’s lead law enforcement agency. “He assured me he’s a good person. We don’t have any major red flags in the background, so we ultimately voted yes. But the problem is, with all these nominations, is their boss. It’s not them, it’s their boss, who is (U.S. Attorney General) Merrick Garland.”

“Mississippi Today reporter Anna Wolfe reported this story from Jackson. Freelance reporter Matt Laslo reported this story from Washington. Mississippi Today’s Taylor Vance contributed to this report.”

DIVE DEEPER: Read the entire piece at Mississippi Today.