Atlanta’s bid for the Democratic National Convention in 2024 has a surprising out-of-state champion: Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones.
The Alabama Democrat has embarked on a behind-the-scenes mission to line up endorsements from prominent political figures around the South and lobby party officials to support the city’s push for the four-night spectacle.
“This is important to the region. Georgia embodies everything the Democratic Party wants to showcase. It’s a swing state that helped deliver the presidency to Joe Biden and delivered the Senate majority to Democrats,” said Jones, who served in the chamber from 2018 to 2021.
“With the demographic shifts in the region, there are opportunities for Democrats to start turning everything around. Georgia epitomizes that,” he added. “We recognize that, we see it — and we want the rest of the South to see it.”
Ben Gray for the AJC
Ben Gray for the AJC
The event is expected to bring 5,000 delegates and another 45,000 visitors to the host city to celebrate the presidential nominee. Eight cities were asked by the party to bid for the event, though officials say the competition narrowed to two finalists: Atlanta and Chicago.
Atlanta’s bid is led by Mayor Andre Dickens and U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, who also chairs the state Democratic Party. Jones said in an interview he’s happy to play a supporting role in the quest for the convention because a win for Atlanta would be a win for the region.
“This is the state where Joe Biden can launch his presidential campaign from. It’s got a little bit of everything, including an incredible civil rights history,” said Jones. “That’s something Democrats need to celebrate.”
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FAR RIGHT FIGHT. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia clashed on social media with another pro-Donald Trump legislator over who should be the next leader of the chamber.
At a Turning Point USA conference, Lauren Boebert criticized Greene’s support for Kevin McCarthy to be voted House speaker when Republicans take the majority of the chamber in January.
“I’ve been aligned with Marjorie and accused of believing a lot of the things that she believes in,” Boebert said, before invoking a much-ridiculed Greene conspiracy theory. “I don’t believe in this just like I don’t believe in … Jewish space lasers.”
Greene responded on Twitter by accusing Boebert, who recently won a razor-thin reelection battle in Colorado, of perpetuating a “high school drama” and trying to score a “cheap sound bite.”
“I’ve supported and donated to Lauren Boebert. President Trump has supported and donated to Lauren Boebert. Kevin McCarthy has supported and donated to Lauren Boebert. She just barely came through by 500 votes.”
Boebert won reelection in November by 546 votes over her Democratic challenger, according to the Colorado Secretary of State, who confirmed the numbers this month after a recount.
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GOVERNMENT FUNDING PACKAGE. A relatively small disagreement among Democrats over language regarding the FBI’s new headquarters reportedly led to an hours-long delay on releasing the text of the $1.7 trillion federal spending package.
But the logjam was broken overnight with text for 12 appropriations bills released around 2 a.m. The Senate is likely to start with procedural votes on the legislation today, but the cooperation of every member will be needed to speed up that work.
Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post
Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post
In addition to outlining how taxpayer dollars will be spent, the bills also include new policies, such as changes to the counting of electoral votes to clarify the vice president’s role and avoid some of chaos that unfurled on Jan. 6, 2021.
The package also includes language prohibiting the popular app TikTok from being installed on government devices.
Once the spending package passes in the Senate, the House will take votes later in the week. The goal is to pass the bills by Friday before existing government funding runs out.
Some highlights:
- $800 billion in non-defense funding, a $68 billion or 9.3% increase
- $858 billion in defense funding, a 10% increase
- $44.9 billion is support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia
- $40 billion in disaster relief for states experiencing floods, wildfires and hurricanes
- $600 million to address the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi
Earmarks are in, meaning dozens of community projects requested by lawmakers will be funded. In Georgia, all Democrats but only two Republicans submitted requests.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- The Senate gets to work on the spending bills.
- The House is expected back until the spending bills are ready for votes in that chamber.
- President Joe Biden has no public events scheduled.
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File photos
File photos
GEORGIA ON THEIR MIND. Georgia plays a major role in the report submitted by a U.S. House of Representatives committee that said it found evidence of criminal wrongdoing by former President Donald Trump in the events leading up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The committee met Monday and voted unanimously to sign off on the report while also reminding the public of the testimony and other evidence collected over its 18-month tenure.
The panel recommended that the Justice Department charge Trump and others with four criminal counts. And it referred for Republican members of the U.S. House to the Ethics Committee for refusing to comply with subpoenas.
One measure of the Peach State’s prominence: The word “Georgia” appears 60 times in the 154-page executive summary released Monday during the committee’s final meeting.
During the meeting and in the report, the committee repeatedly cited then-President Trump’s phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to find votes. It also brought up his false voting fraud allegations against two Fulton County election workers and other actions in Georgia.
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Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
REMEMBERING JUDGE REESE. Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Clyde Reese died Saturday, the court announced Monday. He was 64.
The court did not say how Reese died, other than it was unexpected. The Douglas County resident has five children and 13 grandchildren.
Reese has been serving on the state Court of Appeals since 2016. Gov. Brian Kemp will now appoint a replacement judge.
The AJC’s Bill Rankin has more:
Reese and two of his cousins integrated Pace Academy in 1969, and he graduated in 1976. After attending Georgia State University, he spent 13 years working in residential real estate in the southwest Atlanta area. His family operated Brown and Reese Realty, one of the first Black-owned residential brokerage firms in Atlanta.
Reese then decided to pursue a legal career, obtaining his law degree from Mercer University in 1996. He first worked as an assistant state attorney general in the regulated industries section. This led him to later specialize as a private attorney in healthcare-related cases.
He would later return to state government, working for the Department of Community Health. In 2010, Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed Reese to head DCH.
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OUR CONDOLENCES. One of the state’s most prominent grassroots organizers, Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown, announced Monday that her 29-year-old son Keambiroiro “Keambi” Lane died after a sudden illness. According to online obituaries, Lane passed away on Dec. 12 and a funeral is planned for Wednesday.
“We had a very special love for each other,” Brown wrote on Twitter. “Rest In Peace my baby. You were my gift from God.”
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
