Bennie Gordon Thompson (born January 28, 1948) is an American politician and educator serving as the U.S. representative for Mississippi's 2nd congressional district since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Thompson served as the chair of the Committee on Homeland Security from 2007 to 2011 and from 2019 to 2023. He was both the first Democrat and the first African American to chair the committee. Since 2011, he has been the only Democrat in Mississippi's congressional delegation, and since 2018 he has been the dean of the delegation after Thad Cochran left Congress.
Thompson's district includes most of Jackson and is the only majority-black district in the state. It is about 275 miles (443 km) long, 180 miles (290 km) wide, and borders the Mississippi River. The Mississippi Delta comprises the vast majority of the district.
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Early life, education, and career
Thompson was born in Bolton, Mississippi, the son of Will Thompson and Annie (Lauris) Thompson. He attended Hinds County public schools and graduated from Hinds County Agricultural High School. He then attended Tougaloo College, from which he earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1968. He earned a Master of Science in educational administration from Jackson State University in 1972.
Thompson was a schoolteacher in Madison, Mississippi. He served as an alderman (1969–1973) and then mayor of Bolton (1973–1980) before being elected to the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, on which he served from 1980 to 1993.
U.S. House of Representatives
Tenure
When Mike Espy resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives in Mississippi's 2nd congressional district to become Secretary of Agriculture in 1993, Thompson ran in the special election to succeed him. With five other Democrats splitting the vote, he finished second, behind Republican Hayes Dent with 28% of the vote in the March 30, 1993, primary election. He then defeated Dent in the April 13 runoff with 55% of the vote. He won the seat again in 1994 and has been reelected 12 times. He has faced serious opposition only twice, when journalist Clinton LeSueur held him to 55% in 2002 and 58% in 2004.
Thompson became an outspoken advocate for the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit in 2005. From his position on the Homeland Security Committee, he pushed for accountability at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and a careful review of the role of the Red Cross in the time of disaster. He also pursued waste, fraud, and abuse in hurricane contracting and called for preferences to be given to small and Gulf Coast businesses in the recovery and rebuilding of the affected states. Thompson is the founding member of the bipartisan Gulf Coast Recovery & Rebuilding Caucus in the House of Representatives.
Thompson's voting record has been decidedly liberal; he is by far the most liberal member of the Mississippi delegation and arguably one of the most liberal congressmen ever to represent the state. His legislative platform focuses mainly on homeland security, civil rights, agriculture and rural issues, equal education, and health care reform. In 1975, he became one of the original plaintiffs in the Ayers Case, which concerned the adequate funding of predominantly black educational institutes in Mississippi. In 2000, Thompson wrote legislation that created the National Center for Minority Health and Health Care Disparities.
During his tenure as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Thompson focused on assuring that state and local officials, as well as first responders (fire, police, EMTs), got the resources they needed to protect their communities. Thompson was particularly concerned about local officials getting adequate resources, having been a volunteer firefighter and a local elected official for 24 years.
Thompson was one of 31 House Democrats to object to the certification of the results of the 2004 presidential election in Ohio. President George W. Bush won Ohio, the state the representatives objected to counting, by 118,457 votes. Democrats claimed the results were tainted by irregularities or fraud. These claims were investigated and rejected by journalists, and Democratic nominee John Kerry, who did not contest the election result. As of 2021, Thompson stands by his vote, claiming it was "based on what the issues are at that time. But again, I didn't tear up the place because I cast a vote."
Negotiating the January 6 Commission and chairing the Select Committee
On January 7, 2021, Thompson issued a statement about the January 6 United States Capitol attack. In the statement, he wrote, "There must be a thorough Congressional investigation into the clear and massive breakdowns in preparedness and response. My Committee has been examining the threat from domestic terrorism, right-wing extremism, and white nationalism for ten years and this will be at the top of our agenda for the new Congress."
On February 13, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced plans for a bicameral commission to investigate the attack on the Capitol, modeled after the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission), an independent panel that investigated the attacks of September 11, 2001. The 9/11 Commission was created in 2002 by Congress and issued a detailed report on its findings 15 months later. Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tasked Thompson and John Katko, the House Homeland Security Committee's highest-ranking members, with negotiating the commission's establishment resolution. Despite initial bipartisan support for a commission, by March, disputes between Democrats and Republicans over the proposed investigation's scope and whether the commission would have an equal number of members from each party stalled the commission's creation.
On May 14, 2021, Thompson and Katko announced H.R. 3233, The National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act. The resolution introduced to the House on May 19 met all Republican objections; it contained an equal number of members from each party, required approval of both parties to issue subpoenas, and set a firm deadline of December 31, 2021, to complete the report. The bill to form the commission passed the House, 252–175, with 35 Republicans and every Democrat supporting it. On May 28, Senate Republicans used a filibuster to block taking up the bill. Thompson issued a statement denouncing Senate Republicans, calling it appalling that Mitch McConnell allowed the bill to be filibustered even after hearing from Officer Brian Sicknick's mother and her support for the bill.
On July 1, 2021, Speaker Nancy Pelosi chose Thompson to chair the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. According to Thompson's friends and advisors, his national security expertise qualified him to chair the committee. As chair, Thompson had the sole authority to sign and issue a subpoena. According to a Congressional Research Service survey, this was the only active House committee with this authorization in the 117th Congress, found under Section 5: Procedures in H.Res 503, as most House committees can issue and authorize subpoenas only with a majority vote of the committee/subcommittee or by consulting the ranking minority member. Most House committees can have a member designated by the committee to authorize subpoenas.
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress:
Committee on Homeland Security (Ranking Member)
Caucus memberships
Congressional Black Caucus
Congressional Gaming Caucus
Congressional Rural Caucus
Congressional Sunbelt Caucus
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucus
Congressional Travel & Tourism Caucus
Tennessee Valley Authority Caucus
Congressional Children's Working Group
National Guard & Reserve Components Congressional Members Organization
Afterschool Caucuses
United States–China Working Group
Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans
Legislation sponsored
Aviation Security Stakeholder Participation Act of 2013 (H.R. 1204; 113th Congress) – Thompson introduced this bill on March 14, 2013. If it became law, the bill would have directed the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to establish in the TSA an Aviation Security Advisory Committee and consult with it about matters of aviation security.
Thompson is also supporting a bill to prevent sleeping in United States Congress offices.
National politics
Thompson was the Permanent Chair of the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
Lawsuit against Trump
On February 16, 2021, on behalf of Thompson, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) filed a federal lawsuit accusing Donald Trump of inciting violence on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol assault. The suit came three days after Trump was acquitted in the second Senate impeachment trial for inciting the riot. After the acquittal, Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said in a speech he voted to acquit Trump because he believes the Senate cannot try a former president, but encouraged litigation against Trump, saying: "We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former presidents are not immune from being accountable by either one." Included in the lawsuit as defendants are Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and the two organizations the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. The lawsuit alleges that, by preventing Congress "by the use of force, intimidation, and threat" from carrying out its constitutional duties (the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count) Trump, Giuliani and the two hate groups violated the 1871 Third Enforcement Act (also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act).
Personal life
Thompson is married to London Johnson of Mound Bayou, Mississippi, and has a daughter, BendaLonne, a granddaughter, Jeanna, and a grandson, Thomas. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity (Gamma Rho – Tougaloo College) and a lifetime member of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Bolton.
Recognition
In 1993, Thompson was inducted into the Tougaloo College Hall of Fame.
In January 2025, President Joe Biden named Thompson as a recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal, along with nineteen others.
He was nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for his "defense of freedom and democracy," along with the other members of the January 6th Committee.