The 118th Congress will convene today with two new members from Georgia and higher profiles for some of the state’s incumbents, particularly U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Normally, this first day of the two-year session is full of pomp and circumstance with members being sworn in and the routine housekeeping required when a legislative body reconvenes. But this year could be much different.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California has struggled to get commitments from enough fellow Republicans to secure the votes needed to become speaker. There is a chance some of his opponents will cave, but McCarthy has to deal with a handful of solid “no” votes for now, plus several other GOP members who have been noncommittal about supporting him.
The latter group includes U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, an Athens Republican entering his second term. Clyde was among nine conservative lawmakers who signed a letter Sunday criticizing McCarthy from not acting more quickly to address their demands for changes in how the House conducts business.
Nathan Posner for the AJC
Nathan Posner for the AJC
The group wrote that a list of concessions McCarthy made over the weekend “comes almost impossibly late” and “the times call for radical departure from the status quo — not a continuation of past, and ongoing, Republican failures.”
McCarthy needs a majority of the entire House — 218 votes — to become speaker, and we’ll find out around noon if he has it. If he fails to get to that threshold, it would be the first time since 1923 that the speaker’s race wasn’t settled on the first ballot.
Many Republicans, including former Speaker Newt Gingrich, have criticized those who have threatened to derail McCarthy’s rise. Although his detractors have the votes to do that if they stand firm, the pressure from party leaders and prominent donors will be great.
Nathan Posner for the AJC
Nathan Posner for the AJC
Greene, R-Rome, continues to be one of McCarthy’s most prominent and vocal allies from the far-right, criticizing those “Never Kevin” colleagues.
“Time to be honest to America about the Speaker’s race,” she wrote on Twitter last week. “Not play up our conservative fantasies and sell Speaker candidates that don’t want to be Speaker. The Never movement in the Republican Party is only hurting America and needs to end.”
If McCarthy can pull out a victory, Greene stands to gain greatly with plum committee appointments.
Beyond the speakership vote, 15 of Georgia’s 16 delegation members — everyone except Sen. Jon Ossoff — are starting new terms and will be sworn in this afternoon. Unlike under the COVID-19 restrictions in place two years ago, we expect families and friends to gather for the festivities, including receptions and open houses in their office suites.
The delegation’s two newest members, Republicans Rich McCormick and Mike Collins, will be arriving for their first official day. Meanwhile, Carolyn Bourdeaux and Jody Hice will become “former representatives” as of this morning.
***
Miguel Martinez/AJC
Miguel Martinez/AJC
COUNCIL DRAMA. Two Atlanta City Council members took out a paid ad in the New Year’s Day edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution criticizing new Council President Doug Shipman’s overhaul of the city’s committees.
Andrea Boone and Marci Collier Overstreet, who are both in their second four-year terms, wrote that nearly four decades of Black female leadership ended under Shipman when he didn’t appoint any Black women to chair any of the council’s seven committees. Keisha Sean Waites, the council’s third Black woman, didn’t join Boone and Overstreet’s letter.
“It is inexcusable, unexplainable and unacceptable what Shipman has done,” the two wrote. They called Shipman, who is white, “politically tone deaf” and in need of implicit bias training.
“We could have pointed out President Shipman’s egregious error behind closed doors,” Boone and Overstreet added. “But this issue has long-term implications, and it must be exposed.”
Asked for a response, Shipman forwarded us an email he addressed to the City Council’s members the night before the paid ad ran. It noted that he plans to rotate many chair positions every year or two to bring fresh perspectives and new leadership to the posts.
He wrote that he made the assignments “with both the short and long term in mind” and aimed to ensure that council members had a chance to gain experience on a range of issues.
“Balancing representation, preferences and experiences doesn’t allow for every member to get all of their preferred appointments every year,” he wrote. “My job is to help the institution of Council succeed and to serve the whole membership and our City.”
Bob Andres/AJC
Bob Andres/AJC
The council is composed of 15 members, eight of whom are Black. Shipman appointed two Black men —Jason Dozier and Jason Winston — to lead committees.
Other committee chairs include Liliana Bakhtiari, the first queer Muslim person to be elected in Georgia history; Amir Farokhi, an Iranian-American; and Alex Wan, the city’s first Asian-American council member.
Some civil rights advocates are demanding a swift change to the assignments. Gerald Griggs, head of the Georgia NAACP, said he’s “gravely concerned” with Shipman’s approach.
“As a Black man raised by a Black woman, loved by Black women, raising a Black woman, I want to make sure that not only Black women have a seat at the table but they’re at the head of the table,” Griggs said. “So, Doug, give me a call.”
UPDATE: Shipman said early Tuesday that Overstreet will remain as chair of the city’s Zoning Committee.
”The challenges and opportunities our city faces require us to work together and engage all parts of our communities,” Shipman said in a statement.
“I believe the updated slate of committee assignments will allow us to work for all the residents of our city.”
***
JAN. 6 DUMP. The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol released dozens of transcripts, plus supporting documents like text messages and emails, in the closing days of the year.
The last trove was released Monday morning, just 24 hours before the new Congress would gavel in and put the House in the control of Republicans who had long criticized the panel and its work.
The AJC’s David Wickert spent much of the holiday break combing through the documents and writing up highlights from testimony from people who hailed from Georgia or attempted to influence the outcome of the 2020 election here. Some highlights:
- Donald Trump Jr. threatened to “tank” the 2021 Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs if the state Republican Party did not back Trump’s false claims of election fraud.
- State Republican Party Chairman David Shafer recounted his role in the “fake electors” scheme.
- We got a more detailed account from the mother-daughter election worker team of the racist threats they received after being falsely accused of rigging the election.
- Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told investigators how he tried to explain to Donald Trump that the election wasn’t stolen and hypothesized on why the president refused to accept it.
***
Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
RALSTON RACE. It’s Election Day in House District 7, where five candidates are running to succeed the late House Speaker David Ralston in the Blue Ridge-based district.
Among the candidates are Sheree Ralston, Speaker Ralston’s widow and executive director of the Fannin County Development Authority; Brian Pritchard, the online media host from Cherry Log; and Johnny Chastain, an executive with United Community Bank in Blue Ridge.
The compressed timeline for the race has meant that candidates have had just weeks to stand up their campaigns and get in front of voters, including over the holidays.
But that was still enough time for the contest to take a nasty turn when Lisa Pritchard, Brian Pritchard’s wife, posted a lengthy attack against Sheree Ralston to Facebook, calling her a “shameless hussy” and accusing her of spreading lies. Ralston did not respond to the personal attack, which was shared to Brian Pritchard’s official campaign page.
If no candidate wins 50% of the vote-plus-one today, the race will go to a runoff between the top two finishers. The winner will serve Ralston’s full term representing the north Georgia district in the 2023 and 2024 session of the General Assembly.
***
Arvin Temkar/AJC
Arvin Temkar/AJC
RECONSIDERING RUNOFFS. Speaking of runoffs, look for the General Assembly to spend time this session taking a hard look at Georgia’s current runoff system, which makes Georgia the only state in the country that requires a majority vote to win both primary and general elections.
Detractors, including plenty of candidates, complain that the process is expensive for campaigns and the counties tasked with the constant election reruns.
Democrats are expected to drop a bill to extend the mandatory early voting period for runoffs, which was compressed from 17 days to five days by Senate Bill 202. Others, including Republicans, may want to scrap the system altogether.
The AJC’s Mark Niesse reports Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has his own ideas for lawmakers:
“Raffensperger wants legislators to pass a bill to prevent future general election runoffs, but he didn't specify what he wanted instead. One option includes awarding victory to whichever candidates lead after the general election, regardless of whether they achieve a majority.
Another possibility would institute a system called instant-runoff voting, in which voters pick their second-choice candidates upfront in the general election. Then, if a voter's first choice doesn't finish among the top two candidates, the vote for the second-choice candidate would be counted, avoiding the need for another election."
***
Jason Getz/AJC
Jason Getz/AJC
SESSION SHUFFLE. Georgia’s thrilling victory over Ohio State in the Peach Bowl over the weekend gave the Bulldogs a ticket to the college football title game in Los Angeles next Monday against TCU — and guaranteed a reshuffling of the start of the legislative session.
The 40-day session will still begin on Monday as required by law, but legislative leaders expect a light day to give fans under the Gold Dome time to cheer the team later that evening, including some who plan to jet to California. There won’t be much official business scheduled on Jan. 10.
The annual Eggs and Issues breakfast hosted by the Georgia Chamber will be held on Jan. 11. And Gov. Brian Kemp will be inaugurated on Jan. 12, then host a downtown Atlanta gala that evening.
The annual “State of the State” address — typically a staple of the opening week of the legislative session —won’t be held this year until Jan. 25.
***
Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
WELLSTAR EXPANSION. Over the holiday break, our AJC colleague Ariel Hart broke the news that the Wellstar Health System intends to partner with Augusta University Health System, though many key details have yet to be brokered.
The deal has earned the seal of approval of Gov. Brian Kemp, who called it “good news for the Augusta region and for health care across our state.”
“It means more doctors and medical service providers, more options for health care and greater innovation in this field are coming to Georgia communities.”
Wellstar, which runs nine hospitals in metro Atlanta, came under fire in late 2022 for its decision to shutter Atlanta Medical Center and Atlanta Medical Center in East Point — two systems that served a disproportionately lower-income and Black population.
***
Rodney Ho/AJC
Rodney Ho/AJC
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY. One year ago today, Andre Dickens was sworn in as Atlanta’s 61st mayor. Dickens promised to unite the city, and helped thwart the Buckhead City secession threat. But crime remains an issue.
Dickens recently hosted the annual UNCF Mayor’s Masked Ball and raised the largest amount in its history, over $2 million. And he hosted the return of the New Year’s Eve Peach Drop celebration.
***
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.
