Football and politics have long gone hand in hand in Georgia — and Monday’s College Football Playoff national championship blowout for the Georgia Bulldogs once again put the state’s passions on full display.
Gov. Brian Kemp spent the day in Los Angeles as state lawmakers gathered in Atlanta to kick off another legislative session.
Before the kickoff, Kemp was joined by first lady Marty Kemp for state Rep. Houston Gaines’ remarkable swearing-in ceremony. Gaines, a former UGA student body president who now represents portions of Athens in the state House, stood beside the governor in the stands of SoFi Stadium as Justice John Ellington administered the oath of office to the Republican.
Republican state Rep. Kasey Carpenter caught the game from a field-level suite. Democratic state Rep. Stacey Evans is among the other legislators who made the trip. We spotted them both at the Capitol on Monday morning before they headed west for the Bulldogs’ blowout.
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Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
NEW FACES. If you’re looking for signs that Georgia is becoming more diverse, look no further than the new class of the Georgia Legislature, which includes at least 83 nonwhite members, with Black, Hispanic, Asian American and the Legislature’s first Afro Latino and Arab American legislators among them.
On the scene for opening day, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Maya Prabhu spotted state Rep. Long Tran, a Vietnamese American who wore an áo dài for his first day as a legislator.
State Rep. Ruwa Romman, who is Palestinian American, wore a modern business version of a thobe — a traditional dress worn in Palestine and other Arabic countries. She is also the first Georgia legislator to wear a hijab, a head covering worn by some Muslim women, at the Capitol. Romman’s red and black garment was an intentional nod to the Bulldogs.
On the Senate side, Sen. Nabilah Islam’s mother wore a hijab as she joined her daughter being sworn in. Islam and Romman are the first Muslim women to serve in their respective chambers.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
TOP OF THE HOUSE. The first order of business for the new General Assembly was electing new officers, from House Speaker to Senate door keeper (yes, that’s a job, and an important one).
For its top two spots, the state House elected Jon Burns as Speaker and Jan Jones as Speaker Pro Tem.
Burns called his swearing in Monday “bittersweet,” since he rose to the House’s highest position following the death of the late Speaker David Ralston. Burns said that loss “left a hole in the heart of this House.”
He promised to lead the House with respect for Republicans and Democrats alike. “My vision is that this House will continue to lead.”
Later in the morning, when Burns dropped the gavel with more of a thud than a “thwack,” he joked: “That may need some work.”
Our colleague Shannon McCaffrey has a deeply reported profile of Burns, whom one colleague said “doesn’t have an extreme bone in his body.”
We also sat down with Jones, who served as the first female Speaker of the House following Ralston’s death to end his term. She talked to us about what’s expected to be her increased influence this session and why it was important for girls to see her lead the House.
“I want them to know there’s a place for you at the table,” she said.
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DATE CERTAIN. The first day of the 2023-2024 General Assembly began like any other, with hallways crowded full of lobbyists looking for face time and family members on hand for the swearing-in pomp and circumstance.
But it quickly became unlike any other when House and Senate leaders quickly produced a calendar for the entire 2023 session and both chambers voted to agree to it.
The calendar schedules a series of budget hearings next week when the House and Senate will be adjourned. It puts Crossover Day on March 6 and schedules final adjournment, Sine Die, on March 29. Leaders also scheduled just two Fridays in session.
The swift organizing resolution not only gave members the highly unusual ability to plan family spring break trips, but also to think that for at least one, shining moment, the House and Senate were both organized and in agreement.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
UNDER THE GOLD DOME:
- The state House and Senate are out of session today and will return Wednesday morning.
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Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
PHASE ONE DONE. The special grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump has completed its work, the AJC’s Tamar Hallerman and Bill Rankin report.
In an order issued Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney dissolved the panel and scheduled a hearing for Jan. 24 to consider arguments about whether the grand jury’s recommendations will be made public.
The final decision on whether to press charges in the case ultimately rests with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who requested the special grand jury and would need to present evidence before a separate, regular grand jury that has the power to indict if she were to proceed.
The AJC plans to ask that the report be released in the public interest, said editor Kevin Riley.
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CLYDE EXPLAINS. U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde was among a group of 20 lawmakers who stood in the way of Kevin McCarthy becoming speaker, prolonging the ordeal for four days and through 15 rounds of voting.
But Clyde didn’t clamor for the cameras like some colleagues and deflected questions from journalists all week on where he stood. That changed Monday when he sent a long letter to constituents and delivered a floor speech ahead of a vote on the rules package.
The Athens Republican wrote that his goal was to improve the way the House operates by leaning on McCarthy to “fix the broken system” by implementing new rules that empower rank-and-file members.
“Many of you asked what I fought for — but it isn’t necessarily what I fought for, but rather who I fought for,” the letter says. “I fought for you, because you deserve a Washington that works for you, not for itself. And Washington working for itself is exactly how our nation’s capital has been run for far too long.”
Here is the list of victories Clyde said he and his 19 colleagues accomplished:
- Allowing any single member at any time to begin the process of removing the speaker, which he said will hold McCarthy accountable.
- Establishment of a special committee to “investigate the weaponization of government agencies, such as the FBI, DOJ, and NSA, against the American people.”
- The debt ceiling cannot be increased without being accompanied with a budget proposal that caps spending increases.
- Members given 72 hours to read bills before a vote.
- A vote on legislation to secure the southern border.
- A vote on term limits for members of Congress.
- Passing measures ending all federal COVID-19 mandates and funding.
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Credit: Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
Credit: Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
MCCARTHY’S FIRST TEST. Georgia members of the U.S. House who had planned to travel to California or even spend the evening in their favorite recliner watching the Bulldogs blowout TCU had to pivot on Monday.
The first notable vote under Speaker Kevin McCarthy took place around 6:30 p.m. And the House didn’t wrap business until a 9:30 p.m. vote on repealing funding for the IRS.
Ultimately, the rules package McCarthy negotiated with far-right conservatives passed with little fanfare on a mostly party line vote with just one Republican opposed. All nine Georgia Republicans were in favor and all five Democrats opposed.
But uncertainty over how many moderates had been turned off by McCarthy’s concessions to hard-right critics, the party’s slim majority over Democrats and the end of proxy voting meant the speaker needed all hands on deck.
The House today will continue making good on promises to pass legislation that echoes conservative talking points. On today’s agenda: establishing new select committees on U.S. competition with China and on probing federal investigations to see if there is any bias against U.S. citizens.
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CHAIRMANSHIP CONTEST. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter was not successful in his bid to chair the House’s powerful Budget Committee.
House Republicans’ Steering Committee selected Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas instead. Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania was also in this three-man race.
This was just one of the chairmanship decisions the Steering Committee made Tuesday as House Republicans worked to finalize members’ assignments, a task delayed by the contentious speakership battle.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, is the only Georgia lawmaker on the Steering Committee. He was selected as the regional representative for lawmakers from Georgia and South Carolina.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON.
- The U.S. House has votes scheduled for this afternoon.
- President Joe Biden attends the North American Leaders’ Summit in Mexico City.
- The Supreme Court will hear arguments on a case involving whether a company can sue a labor union for losses during an employee strike.
- The U.S. Senate is out until Jan. 23.
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Credit: Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Credit: Kenny Holston/The New York Times
FORGET ABOUT DRE. Hip hop legend Dr. Dre wasn’t amused to find out that U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene had used an instrumental from one of his songs to accompany a sizzle reel from her first week back in Washington.
“I don’t license my music to politicians, especially someone as divisive and hateful as this one,” he told TMZ.
Dre’s team drafted a cease-and-desist letter to Greene, and Twitter ultimately disabled the video for copyright issues. Greene also reported being temporarily locked out of her account.
When TMZ reached out to the Rome Republican, she turned on the rapper-slash-producer.
“While I appreciate the creative chord progression, I would never play your words of violence against women and police officers, and your glorification of the thug life and drugs,” she said in remarks directed at Dre.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
STACEY ABRAMS 3.0? Democrat Stacey Abrams teased another run for public office during an appearance on the Drew Barrymore show this week.
“So, what’s next? Are you gonna run again? Do we get to look forward to this and galvanize again?” Barrymore asked.
“I will likely run again,” Abrams said to cheers from the crowd.
Barrymore then asked her if she would take on “tough men” who “don’t always play fair.”
“Well, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And if it doesn’t work, you try again,” she said. “But this issue is: What did you learn? Did you learn about yourself? What did you learn about your opponent?”
Even as Abrams contemplates her next run, she still has a hefty campaign debt to deal with from the last one, the AJC’s James Salzer reports.
Financial records released Monday showed that Abrams smashed fundraising records in her rematch against Gov. Brian Kemp by raising $113 million, but she ended the campaign with about $1.4 million in debt.
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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.
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