President Donald Trump has nominated former Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes III, also a former longtime state senator, to the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission.
If his nomination is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Hewes would join the commission’s acting chairman, Peter Feldman, who’s currently the lone member of the commission after Trump removed three commissioners appointed during the Joe Biden administration and a fourth commissioner, Republican-appointed, resigned.
The commission is a regulatory agency created by Congress in 1972 “to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injuries and deaths associated with consumer products.” It has jurisdiction over thousands of consumer products “from coffee makers to toys to lawn mowers,” according to its website, although it does not have authority over automobiles, foods, drugs and cosmetics.
Hewes’ nomination came as a surprise to some Washington observers, as Trump in his fiscal 2026 budget proposal had called for eliminating the commission and placing its functions under the Department of Health and Human Services. The proposal called for one person serving as an assistant secretary for consumer product safety. This would require congressional action, but Trump’s firing of three commissioners and the resignation of Republican Douglas Dziak appeared to be a move toward elimination or consolidation without congressional action.
In July, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the reinstatement of the fired Democratic commissioners pending lower court litigation.
If his nomination is approved, Hewes would serve a term through 2031. It remains unclear how the commission would operate without a quorum of three. By statute, the commission can have up to five members, appointed by the president and subject to Senate approval for seven-year terms, with no more than three being of the same political party.
Hewes, in a text message responding to a request for comment on Wednesday, said he was on an airplane and could not immediately talk.
Hewes is a longtime Gulfport real estate and insurance business owner and a songwriter and musician whose songs have appeared in movie soundtracks. He was first elected to the state Senate in 1992 and served until 2012, reaching the second-highest leadership spot in the chamber as president pro tempore in 2008. He ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2011, losing the Republican primary to now-Gov. Tate Reeves.
Hewes was elected Gulfport mayor and served from 2013 to June of 2025, declining to seek another term. He has served as an advisory board member for the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Park Service.
