As Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency – better known as DOGE – continue to have their sights set on Mississippi to trim what they believe to be “government waste,” nearly $400 million in federal funding has already or is in the process of being frozen across the state.
From $137 million intended for various projects and programs within the Mississippi Department of Education to the Mississippi State Department of Health on pace to lose out on over $220 million being used for virus research and community health center upgrades, the worry among agency heads can be felt.
Mississippi lawmakers will soon have a chance to ease some of the concerns.
Rewind to last week when the state House and Senate left the capitol in Jackson without finalizing a plan to fund the state government after June 30, 2025. While the budget collapse was mostly the result of an intraparty spat amongst GOP lawmakers over procedure rather than content, Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said this week that it “may be fortuitous” that lawmakers are having to wait to pass a budget with the DOGE cuts coming in hot and no end in sight.
“Sometimes, the Lord works in strange ways,” the Senate leader said. “So, we just need to follow His plan wherever that is, and it may give us an indication of how many hundreds of millions of dollars that we actually need to be cognizant of.
“While we’re doing [the budget], it’s very healthy for us to see what’s on the rug being pulled out from under us, and right now, it’s about $400 million. But I’m very doubtful that will be the end of it.”
Last week, SuperTalk Mississippi News reported on a letter sent by state superintendent of education Dr. Lance Evans to the Trump administration, urging the White House to reconsider a nationwide fund freeze on COVID-19 pandemic relief for K-12 schools. Evans noted that the money was still being used for “essential” costs such as closing pandemic-spurred learning gaps through instructional services, professional development for educators, mental health services for students, internet access in rural areas, and facility repairs like heat and air conditioning, among other uses.
School districts taking major hits include, but are not limited to, Jackson, Hattiesburg, Holmes, Vicksburg Warren, Natchez-Adams, East Tallahatchie, and South Pike. The McComb School District, which was under the belief it had $9.6 million available in federal funding, was amid the planning stages of an expansion at Summit Elementary School. The Mississippi Department of Education went on to release a scathing statement, warning that litigation could ensue if contractors and vendors under contract are not paid.
Access for funds for MDE and other K-12 school systems nationally was extended under Democratic President Joe Biden to be used by March 2026. When Republican President Donald Trump regained office in January, he allowed Musk and the team at DOGE to begin freezing federal funds across the country that had been extended by the previous administration. Now-Vice President JD Vance bragged about Mississippi’s educational gains on social media this week but did not mention the services the state could miss out on without the federal support that was in place.
Hosemann, a Trump supporter, explained his belief that the freezes are rooted in a noble cause but remains cautiously hopeful the federal grants will be unfrozen if Mississippi’s mostly GOP congressional delegation can convince Musk, Trump, and company that the funds are still needed. Like the often pause and play on tariffs seen through the first months of the administration, he would like to see some of the money opened back to state agencies.
If not, lawmakers will have to decide how much they’re willing to use from the state’s coffers to replenish programs that currently hinge on federal support.
“What they’ve done, I think, is just freeze program funds that were extended last year. The federal government granted those extensions before my President Trump came in,” he explained. “So, as soon as he got here, he started [DOGE], and here, about 60 days later, they slice $137 million out of our public education.
“Hopefully, our congressional delegates can do something about that. But if not, then we have to decide which ones we’re going to spend which ones we’re going to spend our money on or just let the programs go.”
As for the Mississippi State Department of Health, Hosemann said he got word from state health officer Dr. Dan Edney that DOGE had pulled $120 million in pandemic-related funds out of the agency’s budget and is planning to pull another $100 million or more shortly. The money was intended for ongoing research into the spread of avian influenza and other contagious viruses and upgrading community health centers that have been “ignored for years,” per the lieutenant governor.
Hosemann, Republican Speaker Jason White, and other lawmakers in charge of appropriations are expected to resume conversations next week on the state budget for Fiscal Year 2026. This will give them a chance to account for the funds being pulled from the federal level with a special session soon to be called by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves for the budget to be approved by both chambers’ full floors.
“We have to decide whether we’re going to replace those with Mississippi money. That’s what’s fixing to happen,” Hosemann said, using variables for the example of MSDH: “So, we may have some of these that we decide we’re not going to keep up with bird flu, but we’ve got to finish the community health centers and that will be X. So, I’m really spending time right now determining the X – how much do we need to go forward.”
Hosemann mentioned other funds recently slashed by DOGE intended for research at Mississippi State University, addiction treatment at the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, and Vicksburg National Military Park losing seven full-time employees as part of the cuts. His feeling is that other government agencies, such as the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services, are next to be featured on DOGE’s “wall of receipts.”
“Those are the ones off the top of my head that have various federal funds that are either going to be restricted or maybe if we get lucky, they won’t,” he said. “But I can’t imagine these two (MDE and MSDH) are the only two. I expect we’ll have more.”
