Speaker White’s Holmes County background colors his views on Medicaid expansion

There is a reason first-term House Speaker Jason White has been more out front in his support of Medicaid expansion than perhaps any other Mississippi Republican leader. Granted, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann for years has talked favorably about Medicaid expansion, but he was slow to act – primarily because he knew getting a bill out of his conservative Senate would be difficult. But even before White was officially selected as the Republican nominee to serve as speaker during the current 2024-2028 term, he made it clear that Medicaid expansion would be seriously debated and considered during his first year as the House’s presiding officer. White’s commitment was stunning since other leaders in his party, such as his predecessor former Speaker Philip Gunn, and Gov. Tate Reeves, had publicly opposed Medicaid expansion and even blocked debate on the issue.