Capitol Recap: Biden could find opposition, support during Morehouse visit

Protests could hit president on support for Israel, but he could tout programs

News that President Joe Biden will speak at Morehouse College’s commencement sparked calls for a walkout by students and faculty over his support for Israel in its war against Hamas.

Faculty & Staff for Justice in Palestine-Georgia, a group of academic workers with chapters across the country, said in a social media post that the president’s visit to Morehouse on May 19 “will prompt significant protest among current students and faculty, subjecting them to discipline and, potentially, dangerous confrontations with the police.”

Campus protests, including some in Georgia, have grown since the Israel-Hamas war began in October. The biggest demonstrations have taken place at Columbia University in New York City, where more than 100 students were arrested earlier this month.

But Biden also has supporters at the historically Black college. They include Morehouse President David A. Thomas, who touted Biden’s record over the past two years, saying his administration “has more than doubled Black household entrepreneurship, increased Black wealth by 60% since the pandemic, invested more than $7 billion in HBCUs, and — most recently — forgiven over $140 billion in student loans.”

The visit gives Biden an opportunity to shore up his support among Black voters going into this year’s election.

In 2020, 95% of Black women and 87% of Black men voted for Biden, but recent polling suggests some weakening in his support from Black men.

While some polls show former President Donald Trump is gaining ground among Black voters, most show Biden retains an enormous lead among those voters.

Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz, who recently published an analysis on electoral trends, noted “surprisingly robust support” among Black voters for Trump in recent polls. But he said recent exit polling and turnout trends made him skeptical of surveys suggesting Republicans were on the verge of a big breakthrough with Black voters.

NATRICE MILLER

NATRICE MILLER

Kemp signs bill creating new school vouchers

Georgia will now offer publicly funded subsidies for the private education of K-12 students.

Under Senate Bill 233, parents receive $6,500 a year if they pull their child out of a low-performing public school. The money can be used to pay for private school tuition or to cover home-schooling costs.

“This legislation has always been about one thing: providing every Georgia child the opportunity to get the education that they deserve,” Gov. Brian Kemp said during a signing ceremony for SB 233.

First priority for the vouchers goes to families earning less than 400% of the federal poverty level, or about $120,000 for a family of four.

Critics say the vouchers are subsidies for the rich that will impoverish public schools.

“The amount of the voucher, $6,500, is not nearly enough to pay for most private schools, for which tuition may be as high as $50,000,” Lisa Morgan, a kindergarten teacher and president of the Georgia Association of Educators, said in a statement. “Vouchers are not a lifeline for working families, they are a handout to upper-class parents paid for by the working class.”

Curtis Compton/AJC

New standards for rental housing become law

Landlords will face new standards for the upkeep of their properties after Gov. Brian Kemp signed House Bill 404 into law.

HB 404 mandates that rental properties be “fit for human habitation,” although it doesn’t make clear what habitable or uninhabitable means. It also doesn’t say what penalties landlords would face if they fail to comply.

Still, advocates said the new law will help Georgians find safe, stable and affordable housing.

“I think this is a step in the right direction for a lot of renters out there,” said state Rep. Kasey Carpenter, a Republican from Dalton and the sponsor of HB 404.

Carpenter proposed the bill in response to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s 2022 investigation “Dangerous Dwellings.” The six-part series exposed dangerous conditions — including rats, mold, raw sewage, roaches and violent crime — at hundreds of Atlanta-area housing complexes.

HB 404 also establishes a three-day grace period so tenants can catch up with their rent before landlords file for eviction, and it limits security deposits to the equivalent of two months’ rent.

Arvin Temkar/AJC

Greene hit with backlash over targeting of House speaker

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s calls to oust U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson earned her plenty of criticism this past week, much of it from within her own party or news outlets that normally support her.

Greene’s complaints about Johnson have mostly involved his work with Democrats to pass major bills, including funding measures earlier this year to avoid a partial federal shutdown and this week’s legislation providing aid to Ukraine. The Rome Republican even said that Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, has been “leading for the Democrats and serving (President Joe Biden’s) agenda.”

That didn’t cut it this week with some in her party, many of whom worried about the potential for a protracted search for a Johnson replacement like the one that followed the removal last year of Kevin McCarthy from the speakership.

“She’s a total waste of time,” U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told CNN.

Some have argued that it’s Greene who has been helping Democrats.

“It’s high time someone in the Republican Party told Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to turn all that bombastic self-serving showmanship and drama queen energy on Democrats and stop trying to defeat her own party,” Fox News contributor Liz Peek wrote.

JOHN SPINK / AJC

Coca-Cola faces demand for records from powerful U.S. House panel

The Republican-led U.S. House Judiciary Committee is trying to determine whether the suppression of conservative speech and media by major companies and advertising agencies is a real thing.

It’s demanding that Coca-Cola provide records and communications to assist in its investigation into whether efforts to combat misinformation and harmful content have gone too far to stifle free speech.

Social media companies, such as X, formerly known as Twitter, and a number of conservative media groups have faced boycotts from advertisers over concerns about misinformation, racist and antisemitic speech, and other objectionable or harmful content.

Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, launched an investigation in March 2023 that alleged companies and trade groups could be violating antitrust laws by using their influence and advertising spending to demonetize or deplatform conservative speech.

The letter he sent this week to Coca-Cola‘s chairman and chief executive, James Quincey, involved a boycott targeting the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast and Spotify, the program’s host platform over accusations that he spread misinformation about COVID-19 and coronavirus vaccines.

It’s not clear, however, whether the Atlanta-based beverage giant ever advertised on Rogan’s show.

Judge rules it’s not up to Catoosa GOP to decide who’s part of the party

The Catoosa County GOP suffered a setback when a federal judge ruled this past week that it’s not up to the party to decide who and who isn’t a Republican.

In its efforts to purge from the ballot “traitors” — some would call them moderate Republicans — the Catoosa GOP in March blocked County Commission Chairman Larry Black, Commissioners Jeff Long and Vanita Hollander, and former Commission Chairman Steven Henry from qualifying to run this year for the Board of Commissioners with an “R” by their name.

All four had previously won their seats running as Republicans.

U.S. District Judge Billy Ray ruled that blocking the candidates is not in the “public’s best interest,” and he dismissed arguments that allowing them to qualify infringed on the party’s free speech rights.

The legal fight will go on, however, with state and federal cases still pending.

Georgia GOP legal bills now total more than $1.7 million

The Georgia GOP has been covering the legal expenses for the party’s former chairman and other officials who were targeted in Fulton County’s election interference case, and the tab now exceeds $1.7 million.

It spent $237,000 on legal fees in March after paying more than $1.5 million in previous courtroom bills, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution review of newly released financial documents.

How does that compare with other party expenses?

Last year, the Georgia GOP paid more than $400,000 to organize the state convention in Columbus.

And what’s the party’s financial footing as it heads into a presidential election that could hinge on Georgia’s role as a battleground state?

The Georgia GOP ended March with $450,000 in cash on hand. That’s far ahead of the roughly $140,000 the party had at the same time in 2016 but way behind the nearly $1.3 million it had at this point in 2020.

Outside money helps fuel 3rd Congressional District campaigns

The outsider plays a part in most every campaign.

In the GOP primary for the 3rd Congressional District, so does outside money.

Almost 80% of the itemized donations to former Donald Trump aide Brian Jack’s campaign came from out of state, equaling roughly $250,000. The biggest share of that, $48,000, came from Florida. Next in line are New York and Virginia.

Former state Sen. Mike Crane and Philip Singleton, once a state representative, have each drawn about 20% of their itemized donations from outside Georgia.

Former state Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan is the inside man, with only 8% of his money coming from out of state.

Political expedience

Presidential pardon: President Joe Biden this past week pardoned Jeffrey Alan Lewis, 58, of Douglasville as part of a larger group of nonviolent drug offenders whose records were wiped clean. Lewis was convicted in a Virginia federal court in 2006 of using a cellphone to facilitate drug transactions. He served six months in prison and then a year of probation. A White House statement said Lewis has stayed out of trouble since his release, and that he likely would not have spent so much time in prison under current guidelines.
Flood funding: Savannah is receiving a $30 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to address drainage issues around the Springfield Canal. The canal, which links to the Savannah River, poses a flood risk for two neighborhoods. It also passes by a city sports and entertainment venue, Enmarket Arena, that opened in 2022 and is the centerpiece of a broader redevelopment project known as the Canal District.

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