Mike Ezell transitioned from law enforcer to lawmaker. How was his first year in office?

U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Mississippi, spent much of his first year in office meeting with constituents and helping them with their needs in between the many trips to Washington at the behest of the House leaders.

Listening to his constituents is one of the duties Ezell committed to early in his bid for office in 2022, when he ousted incumbent Steven Palazzo, who was often criticized for not making the rounds of his district, earning the nickname "No-show Palazzo."

"Mike is committed to showing up, speaking up and standing up for our conservative South Mississippi values," his campaign website says.

The freshman congressman from Pascagoula sat down with the Hattiesburg American recently to talk about his first year in office.

Ezell serves on the Homeland Security and Transportation and Infrastructure committees in the House, two committees he feels are beneficial to Mississippi since they have oversight of roads, bridges, airports and other big projects at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Keesler Air Force Base and more.

"It is extremely busy," Ezell said of his average work day. "I'm up there whenever the schedule calls for it. I am out the door very early every morning. I serve on my committees. I meet the people that come to Washington, whether for pleasure or business."

Fighting for the people and their businesses

He spends a lot of time, like many other congressmen, trying to right the wrongs he sees coming from the president's office, including the revocation of the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Ezell would like to see the U.S. be independent when it comes to oil and not have to buy it from other countries.

"The president and his administration are making executive orders which have hurt our people in this country," Ezell said.

He said border patrol agents have not been able to do their jobs in areas like keeping drugs out and stopping human trafficking.

"We did everything we could in our toolbox to try and curb this lawlessness that is down at the border," Ezell said.

Ezell, 64, was sheriff of Jackson County for nearly 10 years before he was sworn in as Mississippi's newest congressman in January 2023.

He worked in law enforcement for more than 40 years — something Ezell is proud of but said it also gives him a lot of insight when it comes to talks about protecting the southern border, protecting U.S. citizens and managing the federal budget.

"I have voted against these continuing resolutions," Ezell said. "We have got to have some sort of stability in this country. We have clawed back a lot of money — there's some opportunity here to stop kicking the can down the road and cut back on this reckless spending."

Leadership in law enforcement helps in Congress

Before he ran for sheriff, Ezell started his career as a young law enforcement officer who worked his way up to chief of detectives at the Pascagoula Police Department and worked a few years with the FBI, doing casework throughout the nation.

He later became chief of Ocean Springs Police Department and was chief of security with Pascagoula School District. The sheriff's job came after he had already retired from public service.

Throughout his time in office, the one thing Ezell has kept at the forefront is being a good steward, not just of the department and the people he served but the money he's been entrusted to spend. He cut spending in the sheriff's department, returning over $1 million to the county in his first year as sheriff.

"You know, when you ask for a job or you run for office, you know there's a certain amount of accountability you've got to have," he said in an earlier story. "And one of the things that I have always been about is trying to make the system easier."

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This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Rep. Mike Ezell talks about his first year in Congress