U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy can count three members of the Georgia delegation as early allies in a pending challenge to his leadership of the chamber.
Republicans began taking sides Monday after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., officially filed a resolution to remove McCarthy. Gaetz’s move came in response to McCarthy championing temporary funding legislation that averted a government shutdown over the weekend.
House leadership has two business days to take action on Gaetz’s request. In the meantime, Republicans could move to quash the effort through a motion to table.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Rome is among the Georgia GOP members who back McCarthy. Greene, who opposed McCarthy in his efforts to pass government spending bills in recent weeks, posted a lengthy social media thread voicing her support for his speakership.
“So I agree with Matt Gaetz that things must change, but I don’t agree that a motion to vacate will effectively create the changes needed to solve the intentional systemic failure that create the annual never ending (continuing resolutions) and Christmas omnibus mega spending packages,” Greene wrote.
She also made clear that she would not support an effort to expel Gaetz from the House, something McCarthy loyalists have floated in recent days.
Two other GOP members in Georgia’s delegation have also publicly stated they will vote to keep McCarthy as their leader: Reps. Buddy Carter of Pooler and Rich McCormick of Suwanee.
The Georgia Republican with the greatest potential to support Gaetz’s motion to oust McCarthy was considered Rep. Andrew Clyde of Athens. But we are hearing he doesn’t believe that’s the right move either.
Across the aisle, Democrats are mostly silent on the challenge to McCarthy. Their votes could prove critical to the outcome given the GOP infighting.
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Credit: David Barnes/AJC
Credit: David Barnes/AJC
TRAINING CENTER. Attorney General Chris Carr vowed Monday to use his office’s power to deter violent protests, such as those seen over the last two years involving the Atlanta public safety training center.
“We are not Portland or Seattle and we do not look the other way on violence,” said Carr, who last month indicted 61 individuals in connection to the demonstrations for the now-under-construction facility.
Carr’s remarks to The Rotary Club of Savannah echoed his speeches around the state critical of protests against the $90 million complex, which he said would bolster firefighting and policing.
The project’s opponents call it a wasteful and environmentally perilous development that encourages overly aggressive policing tactics, and they’ve criticized Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ handling of the debate.
Asked about his office’s role in challenges related to the petitions seeking a voter referendum on the facility, Carr deferred to the city of Atlanta government.
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GOVERNOR CARR? Attorney General Chris Carr ducked questions about his yet-to-be-announced 2026 Georgia governor’s bid during a Tuesday visit to Savannah. As he has before, Carr insisted Republicans’ focus be on the 2024 election.
“I firmly believe that we cannot take four more years of a Biden administration,” he said. “Every (U.S.) House and (U.S.) Senate, Georgia House and Senate seat is up. We got to focus on those races, then we look to the future.”
With Gov. Brian Kemp term limited, Carr is among the Republicans eyeing the governor’s office in 2026. He began building support for a run from GOP colleagues and activists this summer.
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GROWING PROFILE. Keep an eye on Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, who has traveled the state and beyond to grow his political profile. He recently was spotted in Tennessee at a Republican Governors Association fundraiser with Gov. Bill Lee.
We’re told Harper is keeping his options open for 2026. While Harper could run for a second term, he’s not ruling out seeking higher office in a year when every statewide office and a U.S. Senate seat is on the ballot.
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BIDEN BLITZ. Fresh off an ad campaign targeting fans of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders in Atlanta, President Joe Biden’s campaign is out with a new TV spot aimed at Georgia voters.
The campaign says the 30-second ad introduced Tuesday is meant to appeal to middle-class families. The spot will run on national cable channels and broadcast TV in Atlanta and other battleground hotspots.
It’s part of a 16-week $25 million ad campaign that targets likely general election voters with airtime on shows like “Dancing with the Stars,” “Bachelor in Paradise,” NFL showdowns and the Sanders-led Colorado Buffaloes.
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HELP WANTED. The new Georgia panel empowered to sanction or oust locally elected prosecutors accused of shirking their legal obligations is wasting no time after a judge allowed the commission to begin taking complaints.
The Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission is seeking a director to run its operations now that a Fulton County lawsuit meant to block the panel from taking effect has failed.
The job search could be short-lived. DeKalb District Attorney Sherry Boston, one of four plaintiffs challenging the law, has promised to take the legal fight to the state Supreme Court.
In the meantime, GOP state senators have been urging constituents to file complaints against Fulton County DA Fani Willis and others through the panel. Willis is being targeted over her indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 allies on election interference charges
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Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
ATHENS CHALLENGE. The new district attorneys oversight law was inspired partly by GOP frustrations with Athens Clarke-County DA Deborah Gonzalez, who was accused by Republican sponsors of the bill of being inept and ineffective in her work.
Kalki Yalamanchili, a former assistant prosecutor, said he plans to announce a run for Gonzalez’s job on Tuesday on the steps of the Athens-Clarke County Courthouse.
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CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP. State Sen. Colton Moore, R-Trenton, remains undeterred by his recent ouster from the Senate GOP caucus. Moore, who was banished for posting fellow Republican senators’ phone numbers to social media, published Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch’s digits over the weekend along with a message, “CALL STEVE,” and a video of former President Donald Trump endorsing Moore.
Moore’s actions are in retaliation for his colleagues’ refusal to back his call for a special legislative session to investigate Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her criminal case against former President Donald Trump.
Willis indicted Trump and 18 of his allies in August on conspiracy, racketeering and other charges related to efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
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Credit: Mark Niesse/AJC
Credit: Mark Niesse/AJC
HISPANIC VOTERS. GOP Hispanic activists gathered at the state Capitol on Monday to launch Nuestra Georgia (“Our Georgia”), a new conservative voter mobilization organization, the AJC’s Mark Niesse reports.
State Rep. Rey Martinez, the Republican from Loganville who also co-founded the General Assembly’s Hispanic caucus, said Nuestra Georgia will focus on Hispanic voter registration, candidate recruitment and voter mobilization events ahead of the 2024 elections.
The group’s strategic director, Carli Eli, said she wants to save Georgia from “the evils of communism, socialism and liberalism.”
“While the world is watching from a distance, it pains me to wonder what the world is thinking about our nation, as they say to themselves, ‘Will America be great again?’” said Eli, who is also state chairwoman for the Republican National Hispanic Assembly. “If Georgia falls, there goes the nation. And if the nation falls, there goes the world.”
Georgia’s Hispanic population is surging. Hispanic residents now make up 10.5% of Georgia’s population, according to the U.S. Census.
“You cannot ignore us anymore,” Martinez said. “We’re here. That’s our initiative with Nuestra Georgia — to galvanize the vote.”
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden has no public events on his schedule.
- Vice President Kamala Harris will swear in Laphonza Butler to the U.S. Senate. Butler, a Democrat, will finish the term of recently deceased Sen. Dianne Feinstein from California.
- The U.S. House has votes scheduled and procedural steps could be taken to thwart attempts to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from his post.
- The U.S. Senate returns for votes this evening.
- U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, holds a roundtable on housing affordability in Stonecrest this evening.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
CONSUMER PROTECTION. The Supreme Court today is scheduled to hear arguments on the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a case that could drastically change how the agency is structured.
Founded in 2011 as a response to the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, the bureau has over the years fielded 266,560 complaints from Georgians, according to U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s office.
Warnock, who chairs the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, said in a statement that he is hopeful the Supreme Court allows the agency to continue operating as it does currently.
“I urge the Supreme Court to uphold decades of legal precedent and do the right thing by ensuring the government can maintain its vital role in protecting the American people from profit-hungry corporations,” Warnock said. “Our government has an important role to play in making sure that companies don’t rip off everyday Georgians and Americans.”
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
HITCHED. Congratulations to state Sen. Nabilah Islam on her marriage to Bryan Parkes on Sept. 23 at Spring Hall, an event venue in Atlanta. On social media, the Lawrenceville Democrat is now “Nabilah Islam Parkes.”
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. Have you ever had one of those days? Arlo Kimes has. Arlo is now wearing the dreaded head cone as he recovers from a recent surgery.
But Arlo has had great days, too, including the time he was rescued in a McDonald’s parking lot on Clairmont Road in Atlanta and then went to live with the Kimes family. The Staffordshire terrier mix now calls Kent Kimes his main person and spends his time at home chasing three cats and 11 chickens, which beats the McDonald’s parking lot any day.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and location, and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC.
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
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