U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock said his many years as a senior pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church continues to shape him into a better public servant on Capitol Hill.
On Tuesday’s “Politically Georgia” podcast, Warnock reflected on the balancing act of his role as a pastor-turned-senator and how preaching provides a fresh perspective on public policy.
“Human arrogance and pride and hubris,” Warnock said. “I have a new perspective on these things. But, seriously, those two roles are connected for me. I said to the people of Georgia on election night 2022 that my promise is that I will always walk with you, even as I work for you.”
Warnock was the featured guest at a live “Politically Georgia” event Monday in Savannah.
In Warnock’s decade-long push for Medicaid expansion in Georgia, he said his faith has played a central role in understanding how health care access affects people as he listens to those struggling without health insurance.
“Now I’ve got a bipartisan bill that would cap the cost of insulin to $35 per month for everybody, whether you have insurance or not,” Warnock said. “I’ve got Republican senators on that bill. Sen. Kennedy of Louisiana is on that bill. Both of the Alabama senators on that bill. JD Vance is on my bill.”
Warnock said he prides himself on cutting through partisan politics in the Senate by working with Republicans to pass legislation for U.S. citizens rather than for his own political gain.
“I think politics at this moment has become about the politicians,” Warnock said. “So if you center the people, you have a chance to get it right.”
Wednesday on “Politically Georgia”: Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan joins the show to discuss the changing political landscape within the Democratic Party.
