Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Georgia’s U.S. senators land plum committee assignments.
- Lobbying shop expands after law firm merger.
- U.S. House weighs keeping Mike Johnson as speaker.
We’re back! A lot happened while we were gone, including the death of 100-year-old former President Jimmy Carter. Events honoring his life will take precedence in the coming days, starting tomorrow with a procession from Americus to Atlanta. We’ll have complete coverage over at AJC.com.
Carter’s death brought an eventful 2024 to a close. The new year is still in its infancy. But already we’re brimming with questions about 2025, which got off to a tragic start in New Orleans when 14 people were killed in an attack on New Year’s Day and about 30 others were injured, including a University of Georgia student.
Here are five questions to ponder as the year gets started:
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
1. How will President-elect Donald Trump’s relationships shape politics and policy in Georgia and beyond?
A popular political parlor game in the Trump era is guessing not who will have the president’s ear, but how long they will have it. Trump still isn’t speaking to many of the key players from his first term. He had a 92% turnover rate among his senior advisers. Billionaire Elon Musk is enjoying favored status at the moment, so much so that he helped torpedo a government funding bill in late December that put the nation on the verge of a shutdown. Will Musk’s power continue? How will he use it?
In Georgia, Trump appears to be on good terms with Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who wields immense power in the Georgia Legislature as the president of the state Senate. His former White House aide, Brian Jack, will be the newest member of the state’s congressional delegation. Trump’s relationship with Gov. Brian Kemp has been fraught. The two appeared to make amends during the presidential campaign. Will that goodwill continue?
2. Will Georgia admit it has a prison problem?
More people were killed in Georgia’s prisons than ever before in 2024. The U.S. Department of Justice said conditions aren’t just bad, but “unconstitutional.” But the Georgia Department of Corrections has steadfastly denied the prison system is in crisis. A panel of Georgia lawmakers recommended paying corrections officers more money to help with a staffing shortage. But Georgia has tried that before, and it hasn’t seemed to help. Will the state Legislature and Kemp’s administration take meaningful steps to address the problem in 2025?
3. Will Georgia’s Pathways program find its footing?
Georgia is one of few states that has refused to fully expand its Medicaid program to provide health coverage to all eligible adults. Instead, Kemp has started a “Pathways to Coverage” program that offers adults Medicaid coverage if they meet requirements to work, go to school or volunteer. But of the perhaps 240,000 people eligible for the program, just under 6,000 were enrolled as of Dec. 13. Democrats have demanded an investigation. The program was set to expire at the end of 2025, but it will likely get extended once Trump is back in office.
4. How far will the Georgia Legislature go in 2025?
Some of the state’s most powerful politicians are putting their weight behind some controversial policies this year. The governor wants to limit the size of jury awards in civil lawsuits. The lieutenant governor wants to strengthen and possibly expand a ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports. The state Legislature will have the final say. It’s likely laws will get passed. But how far will lawmakers be willing to go?
5. How will Democrats regroup?
Last year wasn’t a good one for Georgia Democrats. Trump turned the state red once again, limiting their gains in the state House of Representatives. Now they are heading into the 2026 governor’s race without a clear leader. Everyone they’ve tried recently has failed, including Jason Carter, Jimmy Carter’s grandson, and Stacey Abrams, who lost twice. Will Abrams try again? Or will Democrats turn to someone like U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson or former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond?
***
Credit: David Goldman/AP
Credit: David Goldman/AP
GOOD MORNING! Happy New Year. The 119th Congress convenes today. The Georgia Legislature convenes in 10 days. President-elect Donald Trump takes office in 17 days. Get ready for a busy January.
Here are three things to know for today:
- Jimmy Carter’s funeral procession starts Saturday in Americus. He’ll lie in repose at the Carter Presidential Center Saturday night until Tuesday morning. MARTA will provide free shuttles from King Memorial Station.
- President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to Savannah College of Art and Design President Paula Wallace on Thursday. It’s the second highest honor a president can give a civilian (the Presidential Medal of Freedom is first).
- Lisa Morgan, a kindergarten teacher and president of the Georgia Association of Educators, is offering ideas for how state lawmakers can improve education.
***
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
NEW GIGS. Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff will spend much of this year getting ready to defend his seat against what’s likely to be a strong Republican challenge in 2026. His new committee assignment in Congress should help him do that.
Ossoff will join the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations when Congress reconvenes today. It’s a major appointment because the committee helps shape federal spending. We imagine you’ll be seeing lots of news releases in the coming year about Ossoff securing federal funding for Georgia projects.
Ossoff is keeping his gigs on the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Rules Committee. He will no longer serve on the Judiciary and Homeland Security panels.
“I will continue working across the aisle to deliver for Georgia,” he said.
Ossoff’s Georgia counterpart, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, also got a plum new position of his own on the Senate Finance Committee. That panel has jurisdiction over tax, trade and health care programs, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Republicans who want to cut federal spending have said safety nets like these deserve a critical eye.
Warnock will also continue serving on the agriculture and banking committees.
***
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
BIG TIME. A big Atlanta lobbying firm just got a lot bigger.
Troutman Pepper Strategies is now Troutman Strategies (sorry, Pepper). The firm has offices in Illinois, Texas and Massachusetts along with its existing sites in Georgia, Virginia and Washington.
The rebrand comes after its parent company, the Troutman Pepper law firm, merged with the Texas-based firm Locke Lord to create Troutman Pepper Locke. The new firm has 1,600 attorneys across 33 offices in the United States and Europe. The lobbying shop now has 26 people, led by founder and chairman Robert Willis, who will continue to be based in Atlanta.
Willis is a Georgia native who in the 1990s was a staffer in the Georgia state Senate and the lieutenant governor’s office. He’s getting ready for Georgia’s legislative session, which starts Jan. 13. Willis said he’ll be focusing on school safety and the rules around civil lawsuits, plus one other issue you might have heard of: sports betting.
“We’ve got a lot of investment from sports betting companies like FanDuel and Fanatics who have put down roots here and created jobs here,” he said. “I think it’s only fair we give them a chance to do business here.”
***
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee, talks about the start of the new Congress. Plus, the AJC’s Ernie Suggs joins the show to discuss the legacy of former President Jimmy Carter, who died on Sunday at age 100.
Be sure to download the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us. You can also listen live at 10 a.m. EDT on 90.1 FM WABE. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.
On Thursday’s show, AJC reporter Greg Bluestein gave an update from New Orleans on the attack that killed 14 people and injured about 30 others, including a University of Georgia student. Then, a panel of experts discussed the life of Jimmy Carter.
***
Credit: Jose Luis Magana/AP
Credit: Jose Luis Magana/AP
MIKE JOHNSON’S BIG DAY. The U.S. House of Representatives will begin a new session around lunchtime today. The first thing they must do is elect a speaker. It could be a long day.
Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, wants to keep his job. But he could face multiple rounds of voting the same way his predecessor, former California U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, did two years ago if more than one or two Republicans choose not to support him.
Some things are working in Johnson’s favor. President-elect Donald Trump has endorsed him. There is no clear alternative Republican who can get more votes than Johnson. And many Republicans don’t want a drawn out fight that, should it linger past the weekend, could impact the certification of Trump’s presidential victory on Monday.
No other House business, not even the swearing-in of members, can proceed until a speaker is in place.
Will Johnson’s critics give him a hard time, even temporarily, as they try to shape how the House will operate for the next two years? Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie has already said he is a hard “no.” Another lawmaker to watch is Georgia U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde.
The Athens Republican was among the ultra-conservative lawmakers who made things difficult for McCarthy in 2023, only supporting him after several days of chaos. Clyde also showed recently that he is willing to defy Trump and stick to his principles. He was among the 38 Republicans who voted against a Trump-backed plan to combine government funding with an increase of the debt limit.
Clyde told WDUN’s Martha Zoller recently that he hasn’t decided if Johnson is the right leader as Republicans seek to cut spending and implement Trump’s priorities like curbing illegal immigration.
“I’m not there yet,” he said. “My powder is still dry.”
One former critic Johnson can count on is U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Rome Republican has been among Johnson’s most vocal critics ever since he replaced McCarthy as speaker. She even led a failed effort to remove him as speaker in May.
However, Greene is also close to Trump. Last night she posted a video on social media encouraging her colleagues to avoid drama and back Johnson.
“Let’s put aside our pride, let’s put aside our egos, and let’s put aside the infighting,” she said. “It’s time to come together as Republicans, and it’s time to do whatever it takes to make sure that we deliver the mandate that the American people told us to do.”
***
Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/AP
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will host a Medal of Valor ceremony at the White House honoring members of the military for their service.
- The U.S. House and Senate will convene on the opening day of the 119th Congress, which includes the swearing-in of members.
- The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to elect a speaker.
***
SHOUTOUTS. Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that! Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
***
AS ALWAYS, send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.
