As U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy delivered remarks at the New York Stock Exchange blasting President Joe Biden’s economic agenda and vowing to limit government spending, his GOP colleagues circulated a graphic on social media touting accomplishments during his first 100 days in office.
“In 100 days of the @HouseGOP majority, we have hit the ground running on behalf of the American people — & delivered real results that completely change course from the overbearing policies of President Biden and the radical Left,” Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-The Rock, said in a caption accompanying the flyer.
But those same lawmakers didn’t weigh in on the most substantial portions of McCarthy’s speech, where he promised to tie together a vote later this year on raising the debt limit to budget cuts.
“In the coming weeks, the House will vote on a bill to lift the debt ceiling into next year, save taxpayers trillions of dollars, make us less dependent on China, and curb high inflation — all without touching Social Security or Medicare,” McCarthy said.
Although no details have been put in writing, McCarthy said his plan includes rolling back federal spending to 2022 levels, capping annual growth for the next 10 years at 1% and recovering billions of COVID-19 relief dollars that state and local governments have yet to spend.
McCarthy said his plan does not include any reductions to Social Security or Medicare, but he did float new work requirements for childless adults receiving food stamp benefits known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Democrats quickly blasted this component of his debt-limit proposal.
Credit: Kent D. Johnson/AJC
Credit: Kent D. Johnson/AJC
“Let me be perfectly clear: holding food assistance hostage for those who depend on it, including 15.3 million of our children, 5.8 million of our seniors, and 1.2 million of our veterans, in exchange for increasing the debt limit is a non-starter,” U.S. Rep. David Scott, the top Democrat on the Agriculture Committee, said in a statement after McCarthy’s speech. “The ransom note that Speaker McCarthy unveiled in front of a crowd of Wall Street bankers today is dead on arrival.”
It’s also unclear if the speaker’s plan will get enough support his fellow Republicans. Hard-right conservatives have pushed for steeper cuts and GOP lawmakers in swing districts could be hesitant to support controversial components like the SNAP cuts that have little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate.
With the path uncertain on the debt ceiling, Republicans continue to focus on culture war issues.
On the agenda today: a preliminary vote on legislation that would ban transgender women and girls from competing on female sports teams. Led by Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde, conservatives are also pushing another bill targeting the District of Columbia, this time on police accountability measures.
“For far too long our nation’s capital which is supposed to represent a beacon of freedom, patriotism, and prosperity for all Americans, have been beleaguered by violent crime,” Clyde, R-Athens, said at a recent Oversight Committee hearing on the legislation. “Like many Democrat-run, crime-ridden cities, Washington is now notoriously unsafe.”
***
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
AMC SITE ON HOLD. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens extended his order halting redevelopment of the site of the former Atlanta Medical Center, the AJC’s Wilborn Noble reports.
Dickens’ executive order will now last through May 1, the date of the next city council meeting. On Monday, Councilwoman Marci Collier Overstreet introduced legislation to ratify and to extend the mayor’s ban for 180 days.
The abrupt public announcement last year that Wellstar Health Systems would shutter AMC shocked everyone from local residents to the mayor himself. It also landed the company in hot water with some state lawmakers, who have pointed to the surprise Midtown Atlanta closure as a reason to view future state deals with Wellstar with skepticism.
***
Credit: Caitlin O'Hara/The New York Times
Credit: Caitlin O'Hara/The New York Times
GIFFORDS TRIP. Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords is headed to Atlanta on Wednesday for a private reception. She will also host a free community screening of a documentary about her fight to recover from a 2011 assassination attempt and her transition into one of the nation’s leading gun control advocates.
The movie, “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down,” will play at Regal Atlantic Station at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Giffords was shot in the head in 2011 by a gunman who opened fire at a constituent event she hosted at a Tucson, Arizona, grocery store. Six people died, including two Giffords’ staff members, while a dozen others were wounded.
***
FULTON JAIL PROBE. Count U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene among those who were horrified to read the story of Lashawn Thompson, a man found covered in bed bugs after he died in jail last year.
Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat announced that some top staff resigned over the weekend in response to the national outrage over Thompson’s death, the AJC’s Jozsef Papp reports. Labat also said he is attempting to change the jail’s medical provider.
Greene, R-Rome, now wants Labat to answer to Congress.
“Although immediate action was taken in response to the investigation, it is no secret that Fulton County Jail has a history of neglecting and abusing inmates,” she said in a letter on Monday. “Under your watch, a mentally ill, young man was consumed by bugs and left for dead in inhumane conditions.”
Greene asked Labat to respond by April 30 to a series of questions about Thompson’s death, the ensuing investigation and what steps he has taken to correct the issues.
***
Credit: Nathan Posner for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Nathan Posner for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff will hold an oversight session focused on living conditions at privately managed military housing at Fort Gordon.
- Republicans in the U.S. House will attempt to override President Joe Biden’s veto of legislation that was seeking to reverse wetlands protections.
- The Senate has scheduled more confirmation votes.
- President Joe Biden will deliver remarks from the White House on his economic agenda with a focus on steps taken to boost resources for families and access to caregiving services.
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will meet privately with Republican members of Congress as he considers a presidential run.
***
Credit: Pete Marovich/The New York Times
Credit: Pete Marovich/The New York Times
DOMINION DAY. After a one-day delay by order of a Delaware judge, the highly anticipated trial between Dominion Voting Systems’ and Fox News is set to begin today, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Georgia’s 2020 elections are expected to be a key part of the trial, since the state uses the Dominion voting machines at the center of the case, Mark Niesse writes. The machines’ manufacturer is suing Fox News for defamation, accusing the network and its hosts of spreading false information about the company in the aftermath of the 2020 elections, including the contest in Georgia.
***
Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
ELECTION DAY. It’s Election Day in Mableton. Voters will choose the new city’s mayor and four of six council members.
Local interest in the election is apparently on the rise. Early voting numbers were higher for today’s runoffs than early voting in the city’s initial March election, the AJC’s Taylor Croft writes.
Aaron Carman and Michael Owens are the candidates running to be Mableton’s first mayor.
Cobb County polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Clayton County voters will also be electing a new sheriff today. The two candidates in the runoff are Levon Allen and Clarence Cox, as the AJC’s Leon Stafford has reported.
***
Credit: Christina Matacotta for the AJC
Credit: Christina Matacotta for the AJC
NEW CARDS. Former state Sen. Jen Jordan, the Democratic nominee for attorney general last year, has a new job. The attorney is joining the Summerville Firm as a partner. The boutique law firm in Atlanta specializes in plaintiffs’ litigation and appellate work.
***
Credit: Courtesy photo)
Credit: Courtesy photo)
DOG OF THE DAY. There may be a new “UGA” in Athens, but don’t tell Wilford Haynes, the Australian labradoodle who UGA Professor Audrey Haynes calls her “bulldawg.”
Wilford is a cocker spaniel, lab, poodle mix. And like all scholars in Athens, he splits his time between winning over students, posing under the arch, and cheering on his fellow Dawgs.
Send us your pups of any political persuasion — and cats on a cat-by-cat basis to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us on Twitter @MurphyAJC.
***
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.
About the Authors
