DNC convention speakers: What to know about Rep. Bennie Thompson

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As the DNC Permanent Convention Chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., will preside over all official business at the Democratic National Convention hosted mostly virtually from the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee from Aug. 17 to 20.

He worked alongside DNC Chair Tom Perez, Chief Executive Officer Joe Solmonese, and Executive Producer Ricky Kirshner to bring the event to light. Thompson has served as a federal congressman representing Mississippi’s 2nd District since 1993.

He has also been chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security since January 2019. In that role, Thompson has commented on a number of immigration issues over the years.

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As recently as February, he and other House Democrats addressed a letter to Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf demanding documents related to the decision to suspend enrollment in Global Entry and other Trusted Traveler Programs (TTP) for New York residents, describing it as a “senseless, retaliatory” move.

Rep. Bennie Thomspon, D-Miss., is the DNC Permanent Convention Chair. 

Wolf's decision came as part of a broader crackdown by the Trump administration on sanctuary policies -- many of which involve banning local law enforcement and other officials from cooperating with federal immigration authorities in order to shield illegal immigrants from deportation.

Like many congressional Democrats, Thompson has accused President Trump of trying to suppress the Black vote in the recent debacle over funding for the U.S. Postal Service and election grants to facilitate widespread mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"Trump doesn’t believe Black Lives Matter but he knows Black votes do," Thompson tweeted Monday. "The President is attempting to sabotage the election by manipulating the Postal Service to disenfranchise voters."

Thompson is the longest-serving African-American elected official in the State of Mississippi and the lone Democrat in the Mississippi Congressional Delegation. A champion for civil rights, the congressman has also served on the Agriculture, Budget, and Small Business Committees to level the playing field, according to his official biography on the House of Representative website.

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In 2000, he authored legislation creating the National Center for Minority Health and Health Care Disparities which subsequently became law. After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the State of Mississippi, he aggressively advocated for disaster relief improvements within government agencies and provided oversight to ensure that federal funds were properly allocated for Gulf Coast recovery.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.