WASHINGTON – On Tuesday Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the below statement on the Trump Administration canceling National Fire Academy firefighter trainings at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA):
“The Trump Administration suspending training for firefighters defies logic and is further evidence of the Administration’s lack of support to first responders,” said Thompson. “At a time when the effect of wildfires is impacting the country coast to coast, we need to maximize and increase training, not deny it.
“As a volunteer firefighter, I know the Federal government has played a critical role in training for decades,” Thompson added.
“Our communities depend on these trainings to improve their frontline firefighting workforce. The Trump Administration must realize their error and restart these trainings immediately – lives depend on it.”
Congressman Thompson, 77, has been serving as the U.S. Representative for Mississippi's Second Congressional District since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, he has was the Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security from 2019 to 2025, previously holding the position from 2007 to 2011.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was formed as a result of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, enacted in response to the September 11 attacks. With more than 240,000 employees, DHS is the third-largest Cabinet department, after the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
Homeland security policy is coordinated at the White House by the Homeland Security Council. Other agencies with significant homeland security responsibilities include the departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and Energy.
Thompson is married to London Johnson of Mound Bayou, 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.
In January 2025, President Joe Biden named Thompson as a recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal, along with nineteen others.
