U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS 2nd District) believes President Trump should face impeachment.
Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, released the following statement in response to special counsel Robert Mueller’s first public statement on the Russian investigation.
— Bennie G. Thompson (@BennieGThompson) May 29, 2019
A proposal in Congress would require 50 percent of each incoming class at the Coast Guard Academy to come from a pool of congressionally nominated candidates.
The proposal is part of The Coast Guard Academy Improvement Act introduced by U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat representing Mississippi's 2nd congressional district, on Sept. 26.
Thompson, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, which has oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, including the Coast Guard, has for many years pushed for congressional appointments to the academy as a way to increase diversity. Unlike the other military service academies, the Coast Guard Academy has never had congressional nominations or appointments.
"When you chart out where cadets are from, it's primarily the East Coast and the West Coast. They're sparsely represented in the other parts of the country," Thompson said by phone Tuesday.
The academy's Superintendent Rear Adm. James E. Rendón responded with a written statement saying, "One of the main goals in our strategic plan is to further the important work we have been doing to cultivate a supportive and inclusive environment at the Academy. So we look forward to working with members of Congress to continue to diversify our Corps of Cadets who will soon be the future leaders of our service."
Women make up 40 percent of the incoming Class of 2022, and minorities make up a record 36 percent. The academy offered 392 appointments for the Class of 2022. That was out of 2,045 prospective students who completed an application. Of the appointments offered, 281 were accepted.
Thompson's bill would allow each member of Congress to nominate up to three candidates to attend the academy. The academy would chose half of its incoming classes from that pool of candidates, and the other half under its current admissions process.
The proposal also calls for a plan to improve retention and recruitment of cadets, faculty and staff of diverse backgrounds. It would formally authorize an existing program the academy uses to help recruit and retain minority cadets. Those efforts led to the largest number of black cadets — 18 — to graduate from the academy this past spring. Formalizing the program, known as the Academy Minority Outreach Team, would "ensure permanent leadership and that leadership has authority in law to get things done," Thompson said. Right now, the work is being done largely on a volunteer basis.
President Donald Trump will participate in a separate private event at the new Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Mississippi, on Saturday morning, rather than in the public ceremony. The decision came after the president’s plan to attend the opening erupted into controversy.
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the White House agreed to have a separate event after a series of noteworthy civil rights leaders and speakers decided to boycott the event and local groups planned to protest.
Trump will tour the museum and speak at a private program in the morning, and the public ceremony will begin afterward.
"I think this was a diplomatic effort that will help solve this issue," said Mike Espy, a former Mississippi congressman and secretary of agriculture who served since the early 2000s on the state’s committee to establish the museum.
“After careful consideration and conversations with church leaders, elected officials, civil right activists and many citizens of our congressional districts, we have decided not to attend or participate in the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.
“President Trump’s attendance and his hurtful policies are an insult to the people portrayed in this civil rights museum. The struggles represented in this museum exemplify the truth of what really happened in Mississippi. President Trump’s disparaging comments about women, the disabled, immigrants and National Football League players disrespect the efforts of Fannie Lou Hamer, Aaron Henry, Medgar Evers, Robert Clark, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and countless others who have given their all for Mississippi to be a better place.
“After President Trump departs, we encourage all Mississippians and Americans to visit this historic civil rights museum.”
