Trump's election campaign with Brett Favre is linked to the social scandal

Donald Trump And Kamala Harris will cross several swing states on Wednesday and pass each other in Wisconsin, where the former president is scheduled to appear in Green Bay with a former local icon, retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre.

A longtime supporter of Trump and other Republicans, Favre spent most of his career with the Green Bay Packers, winning the NFL's Most Valuable Player award three times and a Super Bowl. But the Pro Football Hall of Famer has been in the headlines lately because of a social scandal in his home state of Mississippi.

There are no criminal charges against Favre, 55, but he is among more than three dozen people or groups being sued as the state tries to recover missed money. Favre has repaid just over $1 million in speaking fees funded through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Auditor Shad White of Mississippi, a Republican, said Favre never showed up for the speeches. White also said Favre is still guilty Almost $730,000 in interest.

Favre has posted and reposted messages on social media supporting Trump and criticizing Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate.

“In all the elections I've seen in my life, I've never seen one where there was so much hate,” Favre posted on X on Monday. “It's definitely sad to see.”

With six days until Election Day, Harris will travel from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Wisconsin's capital, Madison, and then back south to Raleigh, North Carolina. Trump will go in the opposite direction, traveling to Green Bay after an event in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

The focus on Wisconsin is no surprise. The Badger State is a constant battleground for the presidency, often decided by just a few thousand votes. Trump won it in 2016 by 23,000 votes and lost it in 2020 by 20,000 votes to Democrat Joe Biden.

By relying on Favre, Trump is leveraging the state's deep and loyal support for the Packers and the team's former star quarterback. But Favre also has more to do with his involvement in the social spending scandal in Mississippi.

Mississippi has been one of the poorest states for decades, but only a fraction of federal social funds went to live with families. Instead, the Mississippi Department of Human Services allowed well-connected people to squander tens of millions in welfare money from 2016 to 2019, according to White and state and federal prosecutors.

A nonprofit group called the Mississippi Community Education Center made two payments of welfare money to Favre Enterprises, the athlete's company: $500,000 in December 2017 and $600,000 in June 2018. The TANF money was to be used for a Volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi. Favre agreed to lead fundraisers for the facility at his alma mater, where his daughter began playing on the volleyball team in 2017.

Mississippi Community Education Center Director Nancy New pleaded guilty to the charges in April 2022 Spending welfare money incorrectlyas did her son, Zachary New, who helped run the nonprofit. They are awaiting sentencing and have agreed to testify against others.

Favre appeared in September before a Republican-led congressional committee investigating how states are failing to use welfare to support needy families. U.S. House of Representatives Republicans have said that a welfare spending scandal in Mississippi involving Favre and others points to the need for “serious reform” in the TANF program.

Favre told the congressional committee that he was he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in January.

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Wagster Pettus reported from Jackson, Mississippi.