Senate votes 'no' on governor staffer's appointment to MPB board. Read why

A Republican-controlled body of senators has voted not to confirm the appointment of Republican Gov. Tate Reeves' Deputy Chief of Staff Cory Custer to the Mississippi Public Broadcast Board of Directors.

On Wednesday, the eve of the 2025 Mississippi Legislature Session's end, only eight of the 51-voting senators voted to approve Custer, who had been appointed and has been officially serving as an interim MPB board member since mid-2024.

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves during a press conference on Thursday at the Walter Sillers building in downtown Jackson called the 29 senators who voted against Custer's confirmation cowards.

"There's no doubt that there are some Republican senators who like to vote with Democrats on really important topics, and they don't like the fact that I call them out on it," Reeves said. "They ought to attack me and not attack one of my staff members. He had nothing to do with that. Quite frankly, I think it's (profanity) what they did … I'm going to keep working to make sure that we nominate people to positions of power and influence that have conservative views, conservative values."

The MPB board oversees the long-term operations of the state-funded organization, it's finances and also approves of programming, which includes, but is not limited to, "Southern Remedy," "Next Stop Mississippi" and MPB Music Radio, to name a few.

The organization is also home to MPB News, an independently operated and managed arm of MPB, though it does also receive state funding.

According to his MPB profile, Custer manages the communications team for Reeves' office, and whether he may have participated in some heated online back-and-forths between the governor's office and several GOP senators on early voting policy, seemed to bubble up on Wednesday.

Why did MS Senate not confirm governor's pick for MPB board?

Before the Senate voted on Custer's confirmation, which had previously advanced through the Senate Education Committee, Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, asked if Custer had access to the governor's social media page and what his role entailed.

After it was confirmed that he did have access, the Senate voted Custer down.

In February, the governor's office used a photo of England laughing with Senate Minority Leader Derrick Simmons from the Clarion Ledger after a story was published on an early voting bill passing the Senate chamber.

Reeves chastised England and other senators for voting in favor of early voting, calling the idea a Democratic priority. After the online debacle, several senators said publicly that Reeves should have acted with more respect for his Republican colleagues.

England told the Clarion Ledger after the vote not to put Custer on the board, he believed that because of the way Reeves' office conducted itself with him and the Senate, Custer had no business serving on a public board overseeing state-funded broadcasting and messaging.

"Whoever's running that (X.com account, formerly Twitter) obviously goes out of their way to take shots at senators and at the Senate, and that's just not appreciated, and it's not how we need to be doing business here in Mississippi," England said. "… Anytime you're on a board, especially one that's the Mississippi Public Broadcasting Board, you're representing the state of Mississippi … It would not have reflected well in this body to confirm somebody with the I would say … bullies on social media and goes out of their way to just be rude. It's just not how we want Mississippi to be portrayed."

With Reeves' current appointment out, the governor can now pick a new member and have them confirmed by the Senate next year. Reeves did not make mention of any specific picks for the position on Thursday.

Custer did not respond to a written request for comment by press time on Friday.

Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature and state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.