Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Local governments could get more time to consider a property tax break.
- Georgia Democrats push for a federal summer meal program.
- It could take a spell for the U.S. Senate to confirm Kelly Loeffler.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene could have dodged the question near the end of her segment at the live taping of the “Politically Georgia” podcast in Washington on Thursday. But instead, she leaned in when asked whether she plans to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff next year.
“Of course I’m considering all possibilities. No decisions have been made, but I would be telling a lie if I didn’t say I wasn’t considering it,” she said, adding that a race for governor also wasn’t off the table.
Greene, R-Rome, is one of the most well-known members of Congress in the country — a reputation built mostly from her shock-and-awe style that the left loves to hate.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Her interest in the U.S. Senate raises the intrigue around a race that is sure to be one of the most closely watched in the country in 2026 as Republicans seek to retake a seat that contributed to their losing the majority in 2021.
State and national Republicans are pressuring Gov. Brian Kemp to challenge Ossoff. Greene offered praise for the term-limited Republican who has had a sometimes rocky relationship with President Donald Trump.
“I think Gov. Kemp would be a very solid candidate,” she said.
While the GOP race for governor is expected to feature a head-to-head matchup between Attorney General Chris Carr and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, the Republican field for the Senate contest is wide open if Kemp decides against running.
Beyond Greene, other potential Senate contenders include U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter of St. Simons Island and Mike Collins of Jackson; Insurance Commissioner John King and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
GOOD MORNING! The Super Bowl is Sunday. State lawmakers are off today. They’ll be back in action on Monday. There are 28 legislative days left in the session.
Here are three things to know for today:
- A Norwegian battery company canceled plans to build a $2.6 billion factory in Newnan. Georgia had given the company some money to buy land for the plant. Now state officials are trying to get their money back, the AJC’s Zachary Hansen, Drew Kann and J. Scott Trubey report.
- Fulton County prosecutors used Atlanta rapper Young Thug’s lyrics and tattoos against him during a lengthy trial. A bipartisan group of lawmakers want to make it harder for prosecutors to do that in the future, the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman, Jozsef Papp and Shaddi Abusaid report.
- Two Democrats joined 33 Republicans in the state Senate to pass a bill banning transgender athletes from competing against women in high school and college sports, the AJC’s Maya T. Prabhu reports.
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Credit: AJC file photo
Credit: AJC file photo
TAKE A BREATH. Georgia voters OK’d a statewide property tax break in November. But that doesn’t mean everyone will benefit.
Local governments — whose budgets rely on property taxes — can opt out of that tax break, and many are rushing to do so. That includes some of the state’s largest school districts in metro Atlanta.
Republicans are dismayed that more local governments aren’t giving the tax break a chance. But local leaders are feeling the pressure. They have to opt out by March 1 or else forever hold their peace.
That could change. A bill moving in the state Legislature would let local governments try out the tax break to see how they like it by extending the opt-out deadline to 2029.
“If there was some sort of test period … they might be more inclined to try this out,” said state Rep. Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire.
The bill cleared the House Ways and Means Committee this week. But even with the trial period, it’s not a given that local governments will be on board — especially school districts. School officials in Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties have warned the exemption would cost them millions of dollars each year.
But Republicans seem confident governments will stick with the break if they try it, especially once homeowners see the impact on their budgets.
“Frankly, I don’t understand how any elected official in the state of Georgia who cares about taxpayers could opt out of this legislation,” said Rep. Trey Kelley, R-Cedartown.
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FOOD FIGHT. Georgia Democrats want to know why Gov. Brian Kemp is again refusing to participate in a federal summer meal program for students from poor families.
All seven of Georgia’s Democrats in Congress sent a letter to Kemp urging him to take the necessary steps so that Georgia families can participate in the program. It would give families a $40 benefit per child per month, totaling $120 for the summer when school is out.
“Of the roughly 2.8 million children who call Georgia home, over 40% of them are eligible for this benefit but cannot participate due to your continued decision to opt out of the program,” the letter read.
Kemp spokesperson Garrison Douglas called that federal program a “pandemic-era, Biden administration program that lacks nutritional standards and fiscal accountability.”
He noted that Georgia has its own programs, including the Seamless Summer Option, which he said “provided millions of breakfast and lunch meals to students statewide last year.”
“We welcome the delegation to join the state in promoting the successful programs Georgia already has in place,” Douglas said.
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Credit: Adam Beam/AJC
Credit: Adam Beam/AJC
PULL OVER. In the South, people generally know what to do when they see a funeral procession. A bill moving through the Georgia Legislature would spell it out for those who don’t.
House Bill 77 by state Rep. Lehman Franklin, R-Statesboro, contains detailed instructions for what to do on a rural, two-lane road when encountering a solemn line of vehicles with their lights on. It requires drivers to pull over, putting their vehicle “parallel to, and as close as possible to, the right-hand edge or curb of the roadway.”
People who don’t comply could be fined up to $100.
The bill changes some things about the processions, too, including requiring that the lead and last vehicle display flashing hazard lights so other drivers can more easily identify them.
The bill easily cleared a House committee this week. A similar bill passed the House last year but did not pass the Senate.
Franklin noted his district, which includes Georgia Southern University, is growing rapidly. Some of the new people “haven’t grown up that way” and “are not used to doing that.”
But his primary motivation is safety, especially for the police officers on motorcycles who sometimes escort these processions. The lead officer would stop in an intersection to allow the procession to pass, often facing oncoming traffic.
“There have not been any accidents that I know of, but there was a close call,” he said.
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Credit: Adam Beam/AJC
Credit: Adam Beam/AJC
MOREHOUSE MONEY. The Morehouse School of Medicine picked a great time to celebrate an anniversary.
School officials were at the Capitol on Thursday for lawmakers to commemorate the 50-year-old school’s founding in 1975.
The visit coincided with the House passage of the 2025 amended budget, which includes $25 million for the school “to support faculty development and recruitment and retention” and to modernize their curriculum, according to Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, the school’s president and CEO.
The next step will be convincing the state Senate to keep the money in the budget.
“We were on the floor today, and I told them everything I could think of in my five minutes,” Rice said.
The private, historically Black medical school now has 14 advanced degree programs and 17 research centers and institutes. It has nearly 1,900 graduates, with 60% choosing to practice in Georgia.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” you’ll hear our live taping of our special event in Washington featuring U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, a former Georgia congressman. Plus, CNN’s Dana Bash and Kasie Hunt along with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe talk about covering President Donald Trump’s second term.
Be sure to download the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297. 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.
On Thursday’s show, the hosts discussed Trump signing an executive order banning transgender athletes from girl’s and women’s sports. Then, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, talked about the passage of the Laken Riley Act and what else he’d like to see from the Trump administration. Plus, Ernie Suggs discussed his 10 years of leading the AJC’s Black History Month series.
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Credit: John McDonnell/AP
Credit: John McDonnell/AP
LOEFFLER ADVANCES. Former Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s nomination to lead the Small Business Administration is ready for a vote on the Senate floor. But with Senate Democrats putting up all the roadblocks they can on certain Trump appointees, it may take a week or more for her to be confirmed.
Loeffler herself isn’t all that controversial. She could even get bipartisan support once it’s time for the final vote. But other more polarizing nominees, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, are ahead of her in line.
Loeffler already received a vote of approval from the Senate Small Business Committee, which held a hearing with her last week. That panel voted on Wednesday to send Loeffler’s nomination to the floor by a vote of 12-7, including two of the committee’s nine Democrats.
But a procedural vote by the full Senate on Thursday on whether to move Loeffler’s nomination forward split strictly along party lines. That came as Senate Democrats lodged a protest over the confirmation of Russell Vought as the Office of Management and Budget director.
***
Credit: Kevin Wolf/AP
Credit: Kevin Wolf/AP
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Donald Trump will meet at the White House with Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Then he will head to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, where he will have dinner with Senate Republicans.
- Senate Republicans are gathered in Florida for the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s Annual Winter Meeting.
- The U.S. House will vote on legislation that would prohibit any U.S. president from banning fracking.
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Credit: Ben Curtis/AP
Credit: Ben Curtis/AP
THE CLOSERS. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock is one of 25 Black leaders working to close the wealth gap between Black and white Americans, according to Time magazine.
Others on this second annual “Closers” list include actor Colman Domingo, CNN’s Sara Sidner and Olympian Gabby Thomas. Warnock, who is also senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, was recognized for his rise from humble beginnings in Savannah to becoming Georgia’s first Black senator since Reconstruction.
“So to say the Democrat is grounded in his truth is to undersell his mission in the Senate, where this session a record five lawmakers are Black,” wrote Philip Elliott. “While it’s hard to get anything passed in a highly polarized Congress, Warnock, 55, has worked steadfastly in a bipartisan way to deliver legislation that would help close racial equity gaps in this country.”
The piece goes on to cite Warnock’s efforts to allocate federal dollars to Black farmers impacted by Hurricane Helene, his successful push to cap the cost of insulin and his proposals to renew the extended child tax credits.
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SHOUTOUTS. Transitions:
- Harley Adsit is the new deputy chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island. Adsit is keeping her role as communications director.
- Jack Ganter is taking over as Carter’s legislative director. He was formerly the health policy adviser for the congressman.
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.
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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.
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