Federal Politicians
Significantly more money is spent lobbying at the federal level than the state level. Below is an overview of the lobby records of each member of Mississippi’s congressional delegation, with corresponding information about their policy positions on related issues. LobbyWatch’s mission is simply to make this public information accessible–it’s up to you, the people, to decide how to interpret it.
Disclaimers: The amounts listed here refer to the total lobby expense recorded for each person since 2008 or since the start of their tenure, whichever is longer.
Senator Roger Wicker
Hometown: Pontotoc, Mississippi (near Tupelo)
Tenure: Federal congressperson since 1995
Committees:
- Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Environment and Public Works Committee
- Rules
- Armed Services (Chair)
- Security and Cooperation in Europe
Top 5 lobbyists by type:
- Agriculture & Food Production ($2,750,158.34)
- Retail ($2,706,950)
- Business Chamber / Trade Association ($2,077,614.38)
- Lobbyists ($2,034,619.46)
- Law Firm ($1,762,132.50)
Top 5 lobbyists by company:
- Agworks Solutions, LLC [Agriculture & Food Production, Retail] ($2,312,700)
- K&L Gates, LLP [Law Firm] ($216,500)
- Deloitte LLP [Banking & Financial Services, Consulting] ($136,500)
- Adams and Reese, LLP [Law Firm] ($133,650)
- Northrop Grumman Corporation [Aerospace & Defense] ($130,000)
| Policy Record | Lobby Record |
| Roger Wicker was instrumental in the passage of the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R.2419). After originally voting no on the 2007 version, which failed, he then broke with Republicans in 2008 to vote yes multiple times until the bill succeeded. | Agriculture & Food Production is Roger Wicker’s top industry-specific lobby ($2,750,158.34). Most of that money came from a single recorded expense: $2.3 million from Agworks Solutions, LLC in 2008. Due to secretive reporting laws, we don’t know what that money was for. Agworks is owned by Mississippi agriculture magnate and former state Senator Bill Hawks. |
| Roger Wicker is Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He also sits on the Committee on Security and Cooperation in Europe. He is known as a war hawk and advocates for significant military spending. In his 2024 report Peace through Strength, he proposed a $55 million, global military investment plan. | Roger Wicker is the top recipient of lobby expenses from the Aerospace & Defense industry ($1,193,350). Northrop Grumman Corporation is his second-highest industry-specific corporate lobby ($130,000). Other high-ranking corporate lobbies for Roger Wicker in the Defense Industry include General Motors Company ($102,500) and Huntington Ingalls Industries Incorporated ($102,500) |
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith
Hometown: Monticello, Mississippi (near Brookhaven)
Tenure: Federal congressperson since 2018
Committees:
- Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
- Appropriations
- Energy and Natural Resources
- Rules and Administration
Top 5 lobbyists by type:
- Business Chamber / Trade Association ($628,948)
- Lobbyists ($542,977.77)
- Agriculture & Food Production ($355,950)
- Law Firm ($318,300)
- Aerospace & Defense ($263,200)
Top 5 lobbyists by company:
- Huntington Ingalls Industries Incorporated [Aerospace & Defense] ($53,000)
- General Atomics [Aerospace & Defense] ($52,700)
- Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc. [Lobbyists] ($41,849.99)
- K&L Gates, LLP [Law Firm] ($41,500)
- BGR Government Affairs [Lobbyists] ($38,505)
| Policy Record | Lobby Record |
| In 2025, the National Cotton Council pushed for its own tax incentive plan called the Buying American Cotton Act. Cindy Hyde-Smith introduced the Buying American Cotton Act (S.1919) as her own legislation that same year. Poultry (chicken) is Mississippi’s largest agricultural commodity, and cotton is its sixth largest. In 2025, Cindy Hyde-Smith reintroduced the Direct Interstate Retail Exemption for Certain Transaction (DIRECT) Act (S.3099) with Kentucky Senator Roger Marshall to allow meat and poultry producers to sell directly to consumers across state lines. | Agriculture & Food Production is Cindy Hyde-Smith’s top industry-specific lobby ($355,950). The National Cotton Council and the National Chicken Council are her top two corporate lobbies in this industry ($34,500 and $27,500, respectively). Chairman of the National Cotton Council, Patrick Johnson, grows cotton on his farm in Tunica, Mississippi. |
| Cindy Hyde-Smith has long advocated for increased military infrastructure in Mississippi. In 2025, she voted along party lines to pass the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act and approve increased funding for shipbuilding and other defense manufacturing facilities, including those based in Mississippi. | Aerospace & Defense is Cindy Hyde-Smith’s second-highest industry-specific lobby ($263,200). Huntington Ingalls Industries Incorporated and General Atomics are her overall top two corporate lobbies ($53,000 and $52,700, respectively). Both companies have facilities in Mississippi. |
Representative Bennie Thompson
Hometown: Bolton, Mississippi (near Jackson)
Tenure: Federal congressperson since 1993
Committees:
Homeland Security (Ranking Member)
Subcommittees: Transportation & Maritime Security; Emergency Management & Technology; Border Security & Enforcement; Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Protection; Oversight Investigations & Accountability; Counterterrorism & Intelligence
Caucuses: Black Caucus; Gaming Caucus; Progressive Caucus; Sportsmen’s Caucus; Rural Caucus; Disaster Equity and Building Resilience Caucus (Co-Chair); House Education Caucus; Rice Caucus; Taiwanese Caucus
Top 5 lobbyists by type:
Union ($2,161,071.57)
Automobile & Transport ($1,278,900)
Banking & Financial Services ($1,198,750)
Business Chamber / Trade Association ($1,008,228.18)
Aerospace & Defense ($772,400)
Top 5 lobbyists by company:
- Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC [Banking & Financial Services] ($565,000)
- Unite Here! [Union, Hospitality] ($241,571.57)
- Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMA) [Automobile & Transport] ($235,500)
- Intuit, Inc. and Affiliates (Formerly Intuit, Inc.) [Banking & Financial Services, Information Technology] ($200,000)
- Entergy Corporation [Energy] ($194,750)
| Policy Record | Lobby Record |
| Bennie Thompson’s stance on criminal justice reform is historically mixed. In 2017 he voted with Republicans to pass the Thin Blue Line Act, which authorized the death penalty for murder or attempted murder against police officers. But he’s also voted to support over a dozen pieces of legislation to reform policing and prison conditions, especially in 2020 through 2022. Among them is the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 to increase regulation and accountability of law enforcement, which Bennie Thompson co-sponsored. | Bennie Thompson is the top recipient of Law Enforcement & Prisons lobbying funds ($182,000). CoreCivic, Inc., which operates Mississippi’s prisons and detention facilities, is Bennie Thompson’s fifth-highest industry-specific lobby contributor ($160,500). CoreCivic’s two most recent lobby expenses towards Bennie Thompson occurred in December 2022 and December 2023, each for $25,000. In September 2023, CoreCivic entered a major management contract with Hinds County, Bennie Thompson’s home county, though there is no known correlation between the lobby expenses and this development. |
| Bennie Thompson is the Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security. He has been involved in many related congressional activities. In 2007, he introduced H.R.1 (2007), Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007, and more recently he was the Chair of the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. | Bennie Thompson is the second-highest recipient of Aerospace & Defense lobbying funds ($772,400). Honeywell International, which has multiple offices across Mississippi, is his biggest lobbyist from this industry ($120,000). |
Representative Michael Guest
Hometown: Brandon, Mississippi
Tenure: Federal congressperson since 2018
Committees:
Ethics (Chair)
Homeland Security
Subcommittees: Border Security and Enforcement (Chair)
Appropriations
Subcommittees: Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies; Homeland Security; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
Caucuses: Army, Border Security, Chicken, DOGE, Fire Services, Freshman Working Group on Addiction, Law Enforcement, National Guard and Reserve, Prayer, Pro-Life, Republican Study, Rice, Sportsman, Steel, Suburban, Unmanned Systems
Top 5 lobbyists by type:
Business Chamber / Trade Association ($444,997)
Lobbyists ($320,471.86)
Construction & Real Estate ($167,250)
Agriculture & Food Production ($165,870)
Aerospace & Defense ($156,750)
Top 5 lobbyists by company:
- Credit Union National Association Inc. DBA America’s Credit Unions [Business Chamber / Trade Association, Banking & Financial Services] ($55,000)
- The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers [Insurance, Business Chamber / Trade Association] ($37,000)
- National Association of Realtors [Business Chamber / Trade Association, Construction & Real Estate] ($36,000)
- (tied) Entergy Corporation [Energy] and National Beer Wholesalers Association [Agriculture & Food Production, Business Chamber / Trade Association] ($35,000)
- American Bankers Association [Banking & Financial Services, Business Chamber / Trade Association] ($34,500)
| Policy Record | Lobby Record |
| Michael Guest sits on the “Military Construction” and “Energy and Water Development” subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee. This committee determines how federal money is appropriated across sectors. | Construction & Real Estate is Michael Guest’s top industry-specific lobby ($167,250) and Energy is his fifth highest industry-specific lobby ($93,200), with Entergy Corporation as his biggest contributor in that field ($35,000). |
| Most of Michael Guest’s committee appointments are related to military defense. He sits on the House Homeland Security Committee and the “Homeland Security” subcommittee of the House Appropriates Committee. | Aerospace & Defense is Michael Guest’s third highest industry-specific lobby ($156,750). His biggest contributors in this industry include Honeywell International ($28,000), Huntington Ingalls Industries Incorporated ($23,000), and Boeing Company ($21,000). |
Representative Trent Kelly
Hometown: Union, Mississippi (close to Decatur and Philadelphia)
Tenure: Federal congressperson since 2015
Committees:
Armed Services
Subcommittees: Seapower and Projection Forces (Chair); Intelligence and Special Operations
Agriculture
Subcommittees: Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry; Forestry
Intelligence (Vice Chair)
Subcommittees: Central Intelligence Agency; Defense Intelligence & Overhead Architecture (Chair)
Top 5 lobbyists by type:
Aerospace & Defense ($588,747.30)
Business Chamber / Trade Association ($486,093.23)
Lobbyists ($394,449.54)
Agriculture & Food Production ($293,450)
Banking & Financial Services ($196,000)
Top 5 lobbyists by company:
- General Atomics [Aerospace & Defense] ($88,500)
- National Cotton Council [Agriculture & Food Production, Business Chamber / Trade Association] ($64,000)
- Mr. Robert L. Redding Jr. [Lobbyists] ($62,000)
- American Bankers Association [Banking & Financial Services, Business Chamber / Trade Association] ($60,000)
- Northrop Grumman Corporation [Aerospace & Defense] ($57,500)
| Policy Record | Lobby Record |
| Trent Kelly consistently votes in favor of military industrial development and defense spending, regardless of party line. Recent legislation he’s supported include the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act (2024) and Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act (2024), the Israel Security Assistance Support Act (which he co-sponsored), the 2026 Defense Appropriations Act (which provides over $850 billion to the Department of Defense in 2026, almost $22 billion over the president’s budget request), and the Coast Guard Authorization Act (2025) to appropriate funds to the Coast Guard. Several of these bills were primarily Democrat-supported. | Aerospace & Defense is Trent Kelly’s top industry-specific lobby ($588,747.30), and 8 of his top 10 overall lobby contributors are from this industry. General Atomics is Trent Kelly’s largest overall lobbying contributor ($88,500). Other major contributors to Kelly from this industry include Northrop Grumman Corporation ($57,500), Caterpillar Inc. ($52,500), Honeywell International ($51,500), Leidos, Inc. ($49,692.30), Boeing Company ($48,000), and General Dynamics Corp ($47,000). All of these companies have facilities in Mississippi. |
| Trent Kelly sits on the House Agriculture Committee. | Agriculture & Food Production is Trent Kelly’s second-highest industry-specific lobby ($293,450). The National Cotton Council is his second-largest overall lobbying contributor ($64,000). Chairman of the National Cotton Council, Patrick Johnson, grows cotton on his farm in Tunica, Mississippi. |
Representative Mike Ezell
Hometown: Pascagoula, Mississippi
Tenure: Federal congressperson since 2022
Committees:
Transportation and Infrastructure
Subcommittees: Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation (Chair); Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management
Natural Resources
Subcommittees: Water, Wildlife and Fisheries (Vice Chair); Energy and Mineral Resources
Caucuses: Law Enforcement; Sportsmen’s; Pro-Life; Republican Study Committee; Rural Health
Top 5 lobbyists by type:
Business Chamber / Trade Association ($164,345)
Lobbyists ($146,561.51)
Construction & Real Estate ($65,500)
Agriculture & Food Production ($53,500)
Law Firm ($48,441.02)
Top 5 lobbyists by company:
- Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc. [Lobbyists] ($22,750)
- Chevron Corporation [Energy] ($21,000)
- (tied) American Israel Public Affairs Committee [Political Advocacy, Lobbyists] and Credit Union National Association Inc. Dba America’s Credit Unions [Business Chamber / Trade Association, Banking & Financial Services] ($20,000)
- (tied) Entergy Corporation [Energy] and National Association of Realtors [Business Chamber / Trade Association, Construction & Real Estate] ($15,000)
- (tied) American Bankers Association [Banking & Financial Services, Business Chamber / Trade Association], National Beer Wholesalers Association [Agriculture & Food Production, Business Chamber / Trade Association], and Woolpert, Inc. [Information Technology, Construction & Real Estate] ($12,500)
| Policy Record | Lobby Record |
| Mike Ezell consistently supports legislation in favor of defense spending for Israel and harsh sanctions against Iran, Israel’s major adversary in the region. He introduced the “Standing with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists” resolution (H.R. 771) on October 11, 2023, four days after Israel’s escalation of its genocide in Gaza. | Mike Ezell’s second- and third-largest overall lobby contributors are Chevron Corporation ($21,000) and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) ($20,000), respectively. Both agencies are known to lobby for Israel’s interests in the United States. |