Hyde-Smith, as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, approves the actual dollars provided for the authorized programs and weapons. The new Wicker/Hyde-Smith pairing in these key strategic gatekeeping positions on defense authorization and defense appropriations puts Mississippi back in the kind of power position enjoyed by prior Mississippi congressional titans like the late U.S. Sens. Hyde-Smith’s appointment repeats a familiar theme in Mississippi congressional representation: seniority and teamwork create jobs and opportunities for Mississippians. But Cochran had been the ranking Republican on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee since 2008. But with Cochran no longer chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, the Department of Homeland Security canceled the building of the Friedman after a contract dispute.