Jon Ossoff looks to pressure GOP on public health cuts

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is seizing on sharp cuts to public health agencies as he races for reelection in Georgia, transforming the Trump administration’s government-shrinking efforts into a central theme of his 2026 campaign.

The Democrat will hold a town hall in Cobb County today featuring longtime staffers of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who lost their jobs shortly after President Donald Trump returned to power.

Meanwhile, he’s getting backup from the leading Democratic fundraising group devoted to Senate races. Majority Forward, which is allied with the Senate Majority PAC, gobbled up a six-figure statewide ad buy hailing his attempt to stop GOP efforts to close Social Security offices.

Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC

Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC

Medicaid figures to be a key issue in budget negotiations when Congress returns next week. The House and Senate passed a resolution earlier this month calls for the committee overseeing Medicaid to find $880 billion in savings over the next decade. Republicans insist they won’t gut the massive health insurance program, but critics say it’s hard to see how they can avoid it.

That could give Ossoff a talking point about the risk to Georgia’s hospitals, who rely on Medicaid for much of their revenue. The Georgia Hospital Association says at least 12 Georgia hospitals have closed since 2013. And 18 out of Georgia’s 30 rural hospitals are at risk of closure, according to a report last year from the health care advisory firm Chartis.

Things to know

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Good morning! Gov. Brian Kemp has 19 days left to either sign or veto bills passed by the state Legislature this year. He’s signed 10 bills into law so far and hasn’t vetoed anything yet. Follow along with the AJC’s Legislative Navigator.

Here are four things to know for today:

2025 races

While many in the state Capitol are gearing up for the 2026 statewide elections, there will be a few hotly contested races in 2025, including an expected special election to replace state Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, once he is sworn in as treasurer of the United States.

The GOP primary for the seat is sure to be crowded. On Thursday, former Army Ranger Grant McGarry formally announced his candidacy.

In his announcement, McGarry made a series of MAGA friendly promises, including a vow to “work with Georgia’s leaders to detain and deport all illegal immigrants, eliminate state income taxes, and ensure no taxes on tips.”

While Georgia lawmakers can’t deport people, Gov. Brian Kemp has asked for federal approval to train state law enforcement officers carry out some duties of federal immigration agents. And the Republican-controlled Legislature shelved a proposal earlier this year to eliminate taxes on tips as they wait to see what the federal government will do.

McGarry is a Roswell native and a University of Alabama graduate, which could put him at odds with the sea of Georgia Bulldogs currently in the state Senate. He also graduated from Emory’s Goizueta School of Business and is the author of “A Night in the Pech Valley,” a memoir about his military deployments.

Gender divide

Credit: AJC file photo

Credit: AJC file photo

When it comes to being successful in the Georgia House of Representatives, the biggest factor is your political party — and maybe your gender?

The Center for Effective Lawmaking recently released its list of most effective lawmakers during the General Assembly’s two-year session that concluded last year. They ranked lawmakers based on 15 metrics, including how far their bills advanced and how substantial their policy proposals were.

But we noticed an interesting trend. The Top 10 most effective Republicans in the state House were all men, while the Top 10 most effective Democrats were mostly women (with one exception).

Of course, a lot of this is just pure demographics. Women make up more than half of the House Democratic Caucus, while just 20% of the House Republican Caucus is female.

Things were more balanced in the Senate, but not by much. There was one woman among the Top 10 Republicans (Kay Kirkpatrick), and three men in the Top 10 Democrats — including Emanuel Jones, who nabbed the No. 1 spot.

State Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton, had the highest score among all lawmakers.

“Having an inability to say ‘no’ to people when they ask you to carry legislation maybe does pay off sometimes,” he said. “I’m flattered.”

Tackling gun violence

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Most of the headlines about a recent federal study on gun injuries focused on an alarming statistic: across nine states, including Georgia, emergency rooms treated one gunshot wound every 30 minutes.

But the most useful data for policymakers likely wasn’t how often people were shot, but when they were most likely to be shot. The gunshot ER visits were highest between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m. Monthly rates were highest in July. And there were significant spikes on certain holidays, most notably the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve.

Knowing this information can help hospitals plan their staffing schedules, which is no small detail given that delays in care often increase the chances a gunshot victim could die.

Also worth noting: the study was completed by researchers at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s one of many studies the CDC puts out each year aimed at aiding decisions around public health policy.

But the future of studies like this is in doubt amid mass layoffs at the CDC. Georgia U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a Democrat from Marietta, has warned the cuts could impact gun violence research — a personal issue for her after the shooting death of her son in 2012.

The data for this study came from the CDC’s Firearm Injury Surveillance Through Emergency Rooms program, also known as FASTER. Congress funded the FASTER program in 2023 for five years, meaning it’s not scheduled to expire until 2028.

Original 33

Georgia already has a monument honoring the state’s first Black lawmakers who were illegally removed from office more than a century ago. So why does state Rep. Carl Gilliard want another one?

“That monument is not totally reflective of the Original 33,” he said.

A bill sitting on Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk would allow for a new monument, this time to be placed inside the state Capitol. Private donors, not taxpayers, would pay for it.

Gilliard, a Democrat from Savannah, has big plans for the monument. In addition to putting it inside the Capitol, he wants to put a marker in each county the lawmakers came from.

The “Original 33” refers to the Black men elected to the state Legislature during Reconstruction following the Civil War. In 1868, a coalition of white Democrats and Republicans expelled them from office. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually reinstated them. But they were eventually driven out of office. Several were “killed, threatened, beaten, or jailed” according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia.

Racial history has become a divisive topic amid the Trump administration’s efforts to purge the nation of diversity, equity and inclusion programs. But House Bill 303 passed the Georgia Legislature unanimously.

“That is a big signal that Georgia, at this standing point right now, is not like Washington,” Gilliard said.

Listen up

The “Politically Georgia” podcast is off today. We’ll be back on Monday. Miss an episode? Check out recaps from AJC’s Natalie Mendenhall.

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Today in Washington

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Black activism

Credit: Hyosub Shin / AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin / AJC

Bernice King, Georgia U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams and political commentator Angela Rye are among the featured guests promoting this weekend’s "State of the People Tour" stop in Atlanta.

Georgia was selected as the state to kick off this 12-city tour focused on motivating Black people to step up their activism. The tour comes at a time when many Black progressives, especially Black women, have opted to disengage from politics as a result of their anger and disappointment regarding President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

The two day-conference includes community service, workshops and a culminating rally on Sunday.

Shoutouts

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Today’s birthdays:

Transitions:

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Before you go

President Donald Trump is selling “Trump 2028” merchandise in his online store. Trump is barred by the Constitution from seeking a third term in office. But U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was a fan, posting a photo on X along with five fire emojis.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can 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.