House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a plan Monday to send more military aid to Ukraine and Israel, defying far-right Republicans who have vowed to punish him for trying to help Ukraine.
The success of Johnson’s plan could hinge on a small group of House members that include U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Rome Republican has threatened to attempt to oust Johnson from the speakership if he moves forward with a Ukraine aid measure.
On Monday, Greene panned Johnson’s proposal, which decouples aid to Israel, just targeted with an Iranian barrage, with the less popular plan to boost Ukraine. The Eastern European nation has been fending off a Russian invasion for more than two years with help from the U.S. and other allies.
But Greene stopped short of saying whether she would call for a vote on a motion to vacate that could depose Johnson. The Louisiana Republican was elected speaker last October after GOP members voted to remove then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California.
“I support the majority and I want it next time, so I’m being careful,” she told reporters. “He’s definitely not going to be speaker next Congress if we’re lucky enough to have the majority.”
Johnson, who is hanging on to the speaker’s gavel by a two-vote GOP majority, shrugged off the criticism.
“I don’t spend my time worrying about motions to vacate,” he said, according to The Washington Post. “We’re having to govern here and we’re going to do our job. I don’t know how that shakes out.”
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Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Jenni Girtman for the AJC
CHA-CHING. The latest financial disclosure deadlines have arrived, and Georgia’s top politicians have amassed massive war chests as they prepare for reelection bids in November and, in some cases, beyond.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of Marietta reported $1.3 million in the bank as she runs in her third new U.S. House district in three election cycles. Her top competitors in the 6th District are far behind.
In the 3rd District, a gaggle of Republicans are fighting for the deep-red west Georgia seat. Former state Sen. Mike Crane finished with $442,000 in the bank, including a $40,000 loan. Former Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan has about $200,000 in his account.
We haven’t yet seen the official figures for ex-state Rep. Philip Singleton or former Donald Trump aide Brian Jack. Singleton picked up the endorsement of a pair of veterans groups this week while Jack said he has raised more than $600,000 over about three weeks.
We’re still awaiting the latest financials for the 13th District, where Democratic U.S. Rep. David Scott of Atlanta is trying to fend off Marcus Flowers and other challengers. Flowers challenged Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, for her seat in 2022.
Meanwhile, we’re also closely watching a trio of Senate contenders. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat who is up for another term in 2026, has roughly $3.5 million in the can.
Then there are the two candidates who squared off in 2022: Republican Herschel Walker is still sitting on a mountain of $4.3 million in campaign cash after his loss to Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who has a formidable $5.4 million stockpile of his own.
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Rebecca Wright for the AJC
Rebecca Wright for the AJC
VOTING LAW TRIAL. The first legal challenge to Georgia’s controversial 2021 voting law rewrite, Senate Bill 202, was argued in court Monday. The case focuses on restrictions on mass-mailing absentee ballot request forms to voters.
The AJC’s Mark Niesse reports the case is expected to last a week and address parts of the sweeping law that curtails nonprofit organizations from repeatedly sending absentee ballot application forms to voters as they did ahead of the 2020 election during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A broader case contesting the law’s limits on drop boxes, regulations on absentee voting and a ban on handing out food and water to waiting voters is still pending.
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TRUMP MAKES HISTORY. Former President Donald Trump on Monday became the first president in U.S. history to stand trial on criminal charges as jury selection began in his hush money case.
A New York district attorney brought charges against Trump accusing him of falsifying business records to hide payments made to a porn star to keep her from going public during his 2016 campaign with allegations of an affair.
Trump delivered statements to the media before and after his court appearance, criticizing the judge and the prosecutors for a “political prosecution.”
The trial is the first of four criminal proceedings Trump faces in the months ahead, including one in Fulton County for his alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election.
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Hyosub Shin/AJC
Hyosub Shin/AJC
GIULIANI VERDICT UPHELD. A federal judge has rejected Rudy Giuliani’s request for a new trial after he was ordered to pay more than $148 million for defaming two former Fulton County election workers.
The AJC’s David Wickert reports that U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell on Monday declined to override the verdict and order a new trial in the case involving comments Giuliani made about Shaye Freeman and Ruby Moss.
A jury in December determined that Giuliani falsely and repeatedly accused the mother-daughter team of voting fraud in the 2020 presidential election. A former New York City mayor and one-time attorney for former President Donald Trump, Giuliani later filed for bankruptcy. It’s unclear how much — if anything — Freeman and Moss will ultimately receive from him.
An appeal Giuliani filed in the case is still pending with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
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David Barnes/AJC
David Barnes/AJC
LISTEN UP. Tune in today when Attorney General Chris Carr joins the “Politically Georgia” radio show to discuss his role as AG and recent moves from his office. Listen live at 10 a.m. on 90.1 FM, at AJC.com and at WABE.org.
In case you Monday’s program, DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond, Republican strategist Eric Tanenblatt and Kennesaw State University Professor Kerwin Swint discussed the political news of the day, including the start of former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial in New York.
Listen at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Bill Nigut/AJC
Bill Nigut/AJC
YOU’RE INVITED. Speaking of “Politically Georgia,” we’re taking the show on the road with stops planned across the state for live tapings with special guests in the months ahead.
We’re kicking it off in Athens this Thursday with a conversation with Gov. Brian Kemp, an Athens native and “Double Dawg.” The event is co-hosted by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, along with UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs.
RSVP to join us Thursday, and keep an eye out for future dates near you.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden campaigns in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
- The House has scheduled votes on various bills related to foreign affairs and sanctions on Iran.
- House managers deliver articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate this afternoon.
- Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testifies about mail delivery delays during a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
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CQ Roll Call via AP
CQ Roll Call via AP
SCOTUS SNUB. The United States Supreme Court on Monday turned down a request by U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde and two other Republicans to review the fines they received for refusing to pass through metal detectors before accessing the House floor in the months after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
USA Today reported that Clyde, R-Athens, along with Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania and former Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas, had asked the Supreme Court to intervene in hopes of overturning the $5,000 fines each had received.
Separately, the Supreme Court in February also rejected an appeal from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, and two others over the fines they faced for refusing to wear masks on the House floor during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
These attempts for SCOTUS review were longshots because the high court takes up relatively few cases related to the number of requests received. In both cases, lower courts had ruled and appeals upheld that Congress has the ability to make its own rules outside of any judicial oversight.
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Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. Not all heroes wear capes. In the case of Hero Taylor, he hears a big golden coat and his heart on his sleeve, er, paw.
This extra-affectionate golden retriever came to Atlanta by way of Turkey, where he was a stray street dog in Istanbul with a badly damaged leg. Once rescued by Adopt-a-Golden rescue service, he was nursed back to health and adopted by his person, Atlanta’s Chuck Taylor.
Hero has adapted to Atlanta life so well that a reliable source reports he even wears swag from local radio station WABE and has been spotted with local celebrities such as the AJC’s Bill Nigut. But more than that, Hero has become the one that people rely on for a boost when they’re down or a smile after a long day. Hero is, well, their hero.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion, and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC. Horizontal photos are especially welcome.
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AS ALWAYS, Politically Georgia readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.
