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MAGA-aligned Arizona Rep. Abe Hamadeh has been cheering billionaire Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency as they bumble through federal agencies in search of “fraud, waste and abuse.”
So why is Hamadeh partnering with a disgraced former NFL quarterback who infamously bilked millions of federal dollars out of the state of Mississippi?
That quarterback is Hall of Famer Brett Favre, who co-authored a Monday article with Hamadeh on the conservative sports commentary site OutKick to announce the “Congressional Fitness Challenge.” Under the banner of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement, the voluntary program encourages kids to complete physical tests, such as a mile run, pull-ups and curl-ups.
“As a Hall of Fame professional quarterback and a United States Congressman, we come from different arenas – but we stand united by a common concern,” Favre and Hamadeh wrote. “America’s youth are facing a silent crisis of physical fitness. Childhood obesity has tripled since the 1970s. Physical activity is down. Strength and stamina are declining.”
A worthy goal, but one has to wonder: Would it be possible to promote the program with a former athlete who didn’t siphon away millions of dollars meant for needy Mississippi families?
A refresher on the Favre scandal, if you’ve forgotten: In 2022, Favre and 38 other people were sued over a scheme to misspend $77 million in welfare funds that were supposed to go to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. It was the largest case of public fraud involving federal money in Mississippi history.
The lawsuit revealed that in 2019, Favre pushed state officials to fund a volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi – where his daughter played volleyball. The university’s athletic foundation received $5 million in TANF funds, while Favre got $1.1 million in TANF money for speeches he never made. Prevacus, a drug company in which Favre invested, also received misspent TANF funds.
It bears repeating: Money meant to help poor families stay afloat went toward giving Favre’s kid a nicer place to play sports.
Favre did repay the $1.1 million in speech money, although the Mississippi state auditor is demanding he pay $228,000 in interest as well. Favre, who has denied wrongdoing and has not been criminally charged, did not respond to an email from Phoenix New Times requesting comment.
Neither did Hamadeh. But while Hamadeh has sometimes revealed himself as out of the loop on Capitol Hill, he seems to be aware of Favre’s scandal. In September, when the ex-Green Bay Packer revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease – at a congressional committee hearing about the misuse of TANF funds – Hamadeh wrote a message of support on social media.
Notably, the federal government would like that money back. On March 11, the Administration for Children and Families – a subsidiary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which RFK Jr. now leads – asked the state of Mississippi to repay almost $101 million related to the case, citing the same “fraud, waste and abuse” lingo that Hamadeh and DOGE have been promoting.
As they work on making America healthy again, perhaps Favre and Hamadeh could also work on making Mississippi pay up.
