The U.S. Senate Rules Committee does not normally grab headlines. But Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the former presidential candidate and Minnesota Democrat, has muscled the panel into the spotlight.
The committee will hold its first field hearing in two decades in Atlanta this morning as Democrats focus attention on new voting restrictions in Georgia and other GOP-led states to jumpstart the push for a federal elections overhaul.
The agenda includes testimony from U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, Democratic state Sen. Sally Harrell of Dunwoody, Helen Butler of the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda and Jose Segarra, a Houston County voter. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a member of the committee, is also expected to help lead the questioning.
Klobuchar held a roundtable on voting rights Sunday afternoon in Cobb County, which featured Stacey Abrams and served as somewhat of a preview.
The AJC’s Sheila Poole reported that Klobuchar singled out Georgia among dozens of states that have either passed laws or are considering bills that voting rights advocates say would make it harder to vote and targets low-income and Black voters.
She called such efforts “discrimination with surgical precision” and include measures to “sow chaos and confusion and make it harder to vote.”
On Monday, the committee plans to shape the hearing around Georgia’s new election law, which includes voter ID requirements for mail-in ballots, limits on drop boxes and an overhaul that gives the Republican-controlled Legislature more oversight of how local elections are run.
Democrats are aiming to build momentum behind stalled federal legislation that would create nationwide standards for early voting, automatic registration, redistricting and more. It was blocked last month by Republicans who cast the measure as an unnecessary overreach. The GOP is unified in its opposition to the bill, and Democrats have been stymied in their efforts to meet the 60-vote threshold to advance the measure.
How to watch: The Senate is offering a live video stream of the hearing.
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Republicans aren’t likely to play a major role in Monday’s field hearing, if any, but they will be fighting on other fronts.
Gov. Brian Kemp will participate in a call with reporters about voting and elections following the Rules Committee’s hearing. And state House Republicans are holding a separate committee meeting at the same time on Atlanta’s rising crime rate.
Meanwhile, Republicans are focusing their fire on another usual suspect in the voting fight ahead of the hearing: The Fulton County elections system.
After legal documents revealed nearly 200 mail-in ballots in Fulton were initially tallied twice before one of the state’s official recounts, a range of Republican rivals quickly got on the same page as they demanded swift action.
House Speaker David Ralston called for Richard Barron, the Fulton County Elections Director, to bring in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. And Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, eager to win support from conservatives, called for Barron to resign.
Consider Fulton County chair Rob Pitts unimpressed. He responded to Ralston that if Fulton was to be investigated, “It would only be fair that all counties with issues be subject to investigation.”
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A group of Georgia faith leaders will submit written testimony to the Senate committee ahead of Monday’s field hearing.
The group includes Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, who heads the Sixth District AME Church, and the Rev. Timothy McDonald of the First Iconium Baptist Church.
We’ve obtained a copy of their testimony, which frames the debate as a moral one:
As faith leaders, we clearly remember and understand the old ways of the South – and while it saddens us that our Governor continues to rely on the racist practices of the past – those days are long gone in Georgia.
While Georgia’s new voter suppression legislation was signed into law without debate or discussion – we still believe in democracy and the rule of law.
We need federal legislation that will provide uniform standards and processes for voting.
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“Unbreakable perseverance,” will be the official ship motto of the USNS John Lewis, the newest of the Navy fleet christened this weekend at a ceremony in San Diego.
Tia Mitchell, one of our Insiders, was on hand in California for the event and reported that the line for the ship’s motto was taken from President Obama’s eulogy at Lewis’ funeral.
Along with actress Alfre Woodard, Capt. Kevin Farrin, the captain of the USNS John Lewis, and Marcus Tyner, a Lewis’ nephew, spoke at the ceremony aboard the ship. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, and several other members of Congress also attended.
Woodard said she initially thought Lewis could be at the christening ceremony when it was scheduled and that they would dance together at the celebration.
Instead he died after a battle with cancer a year ago Saturday.
“John Lewis lives in all the spaces where people reach out their hands to pull others up to the lives that they deserve,” Woodard said.
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Members of Georgia’s congressional delegation put together a video tribute marking one year since Congressman John Lewis’ death.
All eight Democrats — two senators and six House members — were joined by three of the state’s eight Republican congressmen, Reps. Buddy Carter, Austin Scott and Barry Loudermilk.
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Former President Donald Trump went on a bit of a Georgia spree over the weekend.
In emails, his primary communication tool since he was kicked off social media, he touted ex-U.S. Rep. Doug Collins’ upcoming book on the impeachment trials. And he issued a second statement that promoted state Sen. Burt Jones, R-Jackson, who is expected to soon announce a campaign for lieutenant governor.
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Consider it the Marjorie Taylor Greene effect. Marcus Flowers, the most prominent Democrat challenging the controversial Republican lawmaker, raised over $1.5 million during the second quarter of 2021. He ended the fundraising period with $647,579.
The Army veteran benefitted from the social media presence he has amassed as a potential foil to Greene, whose controversial statements have made her a target on the left.
But Congressional District 14 is likely to remain deeply red, even after the lines are redrawn this year in redistricting. It will be hard for any Democrat to beat a Republican there, even a lightning rod like the congresswoman.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was far away from the 14th Congressional District earlier this month as she campaigned for Illinois Republican U.S. Rep. Mary Miller.
During a rally for Miller, WBEZ Chicago reported that Greene repeatedly claimed that Donald Trump won the election in Georgia and tried to refuel her fight with Democratic Illinois congresswoman, U.S. Rep. Marie Newman.
Greene mocked both Newman and Newman’s transgender daughter, as Greene talking about her own daughters, “who are very much biological real girls.” She continued of her colleague, “I call her, ‘Marie Newperson’ ‘cause she doesn’t believe in gender.”
Asked by the Chicago Sun-Times about Greene’s comments, Newman said, “She’s deeply broken, and I hope she gets help.”
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POSTED: Candice Broce, a top deputy and former spokeswoman for Gov. Brian Kemp, has been appointed as the interim director of the Division of Family and Children Services, replacing Tom Rawlings as head of the department.
From the report:
Rawlings resigned from the post on Friday after he got into an angry verbal altercation a day earlier with a private security officer working with a film crew while he was trying to get to a meeting, according to three people with direct knowledge of the incident. The three were not authorized to speak publicly. No criminal charges were filed.
Rawlings declined to comment on the reason for his departure, but he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he was proud of his track record as head of the sprawling agency, which also oversees elder abuse prevention and food stamp programs.
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If you’re feeling young and accomplished this morning, you have obviously not seen the yearbook photo of Georgia’s senior senator, Jon Ossoff, unearthed by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski. Ossoff graduated from high school in 2005.
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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.
