Democrats have been warned all week by the White House not to gloat about the potential upsides in the bill for them, Politico reports. But President Joe Biden will take a victory lap tonight with an Oval Office address at 7 p.m.
It took a monthslong standoff and weeks of intensive negotiations with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, but Democrats and Republicans avoided the nation’s first-ever potential default late Thursday night, as the Senate voted 63 to 36 to lift the nation’s debt ceiling.
In a statement after Thursday’s Senate vote, Biden thanked both Senate leaders — Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — for moving the bill quickly.
Roughly 24 hours after the bill passed in the House, the Senate began debating the legislation and a final vote happened right before midnight.
Georgia’s Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock both voted for the legislation. They took the same posture as most Democrats: Unhappy with the cost-cutting measures that Republicans insisted on including, but wanting to avoid a financial crisis triggered by a default.
Warnock accused “partisan actors” of needlessly pushing the debt limit perilously close to a default deadline, but said the deal is in the best interests of the country.
“I’m glad that cooler heads prevailed and crafted a bipartisan bill that will allow us to pay our bills and avoid a default, while also preserving important investments that help hardworking Georgia families and keep our economy strong,” Warnock said.
Just one Georgia Democrat, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, opposed the bill in the House. Three Republicans, U.S. Reps. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens; Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee; and Mike Collins, R-Jackson, voted no, too.
“No one gets everything they want in a negotiation,” Biden said. “But make no mistake: this bipartisan agreement is a big win for our economy and the American people.”
He is expected to sign the legislation into law as soon as possible.
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MTG TOWN HALL. One of the most solid and surprising “yes” votes for the debt deal was U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
A loyal ally to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Greene broke with some of her staunchest Freedom Caucus colleagues to stick with the speaker throughout the negotiations.
The Rome Republican sounded practically moderate when she warned of the potential economic damage of default, but also said she could need some “sides” and “desserts” to sweeten the package, which she initially called an “(expletive) sandwich.”
Look for those desserts to be served up some time soon, but they’re likely to be anything but moderate.
One priority for Greene would be her bill for a national ban on gender affirming care for transgender minors, much like the Georgia ban that passed this year, but with more restrictive caveats. Among those caveats is language to prevent any federal health insurance plans from covering such care, or federal facilities from providing it. LGBTQ advocates have warned such legislation could cause irreparable harm to transgender youth.
Are Greene’s constituents turned off by all of her inside wheeling and dealing? It didn’t look like it in Cobb County last night, where Greene got a standing ovation at a town hall event she scheduled for constituents. But unlike other town hall crowds we’ve seen for her, there were quite a few empty seats.
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LISTEN UP. It’s been a hectic week in Washington with the debt ceiling deal on the line. In today’s edition of the Politically Georgia podcast, we’re looking at who voted against the bill and why, and digging into the surprising role U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Rome, is playing as a key ally for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
We’re also forecasting next week’s Georgia GOP convention, answering listener questions, and picking the who’s up/ who’s down for the week.
Listen and follow at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher.
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Credit: Screenshot
Credit: Screenshot
ELECTION CHALLENGER. The Republican Party has nominated a man who has tried to disqualify thousands of people to a seat on the Fulton County election board, the AJC’s Mark Niesse reports.
Jason Frazier has challenged the registrations of nearly 10,000 people in the democratic stronghold. He is one of the most prolific users of Georgia’s 2021 voting law that allows anyone to contest an unlimited number of other voters’ qualifications.
While few of his challenges have been successful, eligible voters have had to defend their right to vote in hearings before the county election board. Now, he could be in a position of authority over those voter challenges, certification of election results, polling place locations and voting hours.
As soon as Wednesday, the Fulton County Commission could take a vote on his nomination.
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Credit: Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
Credit: Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will deliver remarks from the White House at 7 p.m. about the debt ceiling.
- The U.S. Senate and House are done for the week.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez for the AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez for the AJC
KING ROY. It was one of the first viral ads in Georgia politics: A giant crowned rat that depicted then-Gov. Roy Barnes scaling the Gold Dome.
The spot was designed by Fred Davis for Sonny Perdue, who was then Barnes’ obscure challenger. It helped bring a crush of attention to Perdue’s underdog — and ultimately winning — 2002 campaign.
In the latest episode of the Pro Politics with Zac McCrary podcast, Davis recounts the tale of how he came up with the campaign-changing ad.
He was holed up with a handful of campaign staffers and Perdue, who was in a foul mood. Perdue was rejecting seemingly every idea as a dinner appointment fast approached.
“I don’t feel like having dinner with any of you,” Davis recalled Perdue telling him. “Hollywood, why don’t you just go back to your hotel and come in here in the morning and tell us how we win this thing?”
When Davis returned to the nearby Holiday Inn, he had a bad case of writer’s block and couldn’t come up with a single idea “that even had a prayer of working.” So he went to bed with his legal pad nearby.
Then, at 2 a.m., an epiphany. He awoke visualizing a giant rat rampaging through Georgia styled after the Democratic incumbent.
Davis pitched the idea the next day to skeptical advisers. Most blanched at comparing the powerful governor to a rodent. One suggested turning it into a possum. Perdue spoke last.
“Well, I didn’t hear any great ideas for the rest of you. Build me a rat,” he said, before leaving the room. “Thirty days later, the rat was there.”
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
NEW CDC CHIEF. President Joe Biden plans to make former North Carolina health secretary Mandy Cohen the next director of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the Washington Post.
The current chief, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, announced in May that she would leave at the end of this month. She served on the job for a little over two years but became one of the faces of the public health response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Cohen, an internal medicine doctor by training, led North Carolina’s COVID-19 response in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, she took a job in the private sector. She also served in President Barack Obama’s administration as chief operating officer and chief of staff at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
CHURCH VOTERS. A group of highly involved voters is gathering in Columbus for strategy sessions. But we aren’t talking about the upcoming state convention for the Republican Party.
Georgia’s African Methodist Episcopal Church is currently holding its annual spring strategic planning meeting in the city. Representing over 90,000 parishioners in 534 predominantly Black churches, the meetings will focus on the priorities of community service, public policy and faith-based initiatives.
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, along with state Reps. Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus; Billy Mitchell, D-Stone Mountain; and Teddy Reese, D-Columbus, addressed the group on Thursday. Today, Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff will deliver a speech via video conference.
The Republican Party state convention kicks off in Columbus on June 9.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. We don’t like to judge a book by its cover, but it’s time to meet one of our most glamorous dogs of the day, Josie Graham.
Josie is a redtick coonhound-pointer mix rescue who calls Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham her person. Along with taking a dip in the backyard pond and occasionally dressing in full Pride gear for neighborhood walks, Josie spends the rest of her days just being gorgeous.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and cats on a cat-by-cat basis to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us on Twitter @MurphyAJC.
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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.
