On Tuesday, Gov. Nathan Deal spoke publicly for the first time about his wife Sandra's cancer treatment. Georgia's first lady is recovering from successful breast cancer surgery after a routine mammogram revealed a suspicious mass. Said Deal:
"She just wanted to make sure that rumors did not get started. People had seen us at the hospital. I know how those things go. She's doing well. She'll start chemo treatment on Friday.
"The surgery went well, she's in good spirits. And her prayer group had a spend-the-night party last night at the mansion."
"She has a good spirit about it. It was discovered during a normal mammogram and they caught it early. The surgery was successful and we're expecting the chemo treatment to be successful as well."
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One of the more provocative lines in President Donald Trump's first State of the Union speech on Tuesday was a demand for more control over the federal bureaucracy:
"All Americans deserve accountability and respect -- and that is what we are giving them. So tonight, I call on the Congress to empower every Cabinet secretary with the authority to reward good workers -- and to remove federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people."
The single statement rang two bells. There is the Russia investigation, of course, and the federal employees who are conducting it.
But Trump's words also sounded like an assault on the very concept of civil service protections. Which didn't at all bother state Sen. Michael Williams, R-Cumming, a GOP candidate for governor, who Tweeted this:
"Did you hear what President Trump just said? He asked Congress to empower cabinet members to remove federal employees who undermine public trust. When I am your governor, I will do the same in Georgia. No more bad actors!"
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A few familiar Georgia faces floated around the U.S. Capitol ahead of last night's State of the Union address. Former congressman Lynn Westmoreland, whom Trump has nominated for a position on Amtrak's governing board, was in the building earlier in the day visiting old colleagues. But he didn't stay for the speech.
His one-time House colleague Jack Kingston, meanwhile, was on the House floor catching up with old colleagues ahead of Trump's address, and snapping a few pics.
Also making the rounds was former presidential candidate and WSB Radio host Herman Cain. He grabbed lunch and a photo with U.S. Sen. David Perdue, and shot a Facebook Live video with U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Monroe, who invited Cain to the speech.
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It's commonplace for a few devoted lawmakers to camp out hours ahead of time along the aisle seats in the House chamber
to get a prime spot (in front of the TV cameras and in handshake range) for when the president enters the chamber for the State of the Union address. One of those lawmakers this year was U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Evans.
After three years in Congress, Allen said the State of the Union still makes him giddy. “If it doesn’t give you butterflies,” he said, “something’s wrong with you.”
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One of the juicier tidbits leading up to the SOTU address was the fact that Sonny Perdue, who looks nothing like Kiefer Sutherland, was the "designated survivor" last night. The former Georgia governor and current secretary of agriculture was the Cabinet member kept away from the U.S. Capitol just in case something cataclysmic wiped out American leadership.
In something of a come-down, Perdue will be at the International Processing and Poultry Expo at the Georgia World Congress Center this afternoon.
He has business there. Perdue and U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, appear to be on opposite sides of a fight over chicken. The Gainesville Times reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has denied a request from Collins last May to allow increased speeds at processing plants.
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Cobb County isn't the only community seeking a sales tax hike. Maggie Lee of the Macon Telegraph reports that after three years of county budget shortfalls, Bibb County leaders are also asking state lawmakers to help them pursue a new sales tax – which could give the county the highest sales tax rate in the state.
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Deputies to Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp continued to needle each other on social media on Tuesday, this time over the lieutenant governor's health care task force.
Kemp spokesman Ryan Mahoney circled a section of a news story about Cagle’s support for measures that would create a health care advisory council and a new commission on substance abuse, directly below a quote in which he was advocating for more limited government.
Tweeted Mahoney: Cagle "says he's opposed to big gov't solutions...while proposing another council & commission. Cagle says we need to tackle the opioid epidemic, improve healthcare access...then opts for more study committees. He's been in office for 25 years & simply can't deliver."
A few hours later, Cagle campaign manager Scott Binkley responded: "Casey held the conservative line during Obamacare and now is leading where DC has failed. Meanwhile Kemp was handing out our SSNs and wiping servers."
There’s good reason for the two to seek each other out. Cagle and Kemp are the presumptive front-runners for a July runoff for the GOP nomination.
And both campaigns seem more willing to angle for an election against a known opponent than a match-up against less predictable contenders -- like Hunter Hill, Clay Tippins or Michael Williams.
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Georgia's most conservative lawmakers cheered the House Intelligence Committee's vote to release a controversial GOP memo casting doubt on the methods used by federal law enforcement agents during the early days of the Russia investigation.
U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, said the memo shows “that gross violations of individuals’ Constitutional rights were knowingly committed at the highest levels of the DOJ and the FBI, for political reasons.”
Offices for the state’s most conservative districts said they have been pounded by requests from constituents over the last week urging lawmakers to okay the memo’s release.
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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will be in Washington today for a reception with 1,000 Women Strong, a fundraising group her campaign set up to "build strong community-led initiatives" supporting her bid to be Georgia's chief executive.
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The U.S. House this week passed a measure that's a major priority for Atlanta-based Habitat for Humanity.
The nonprofit said the HOME Act would clear the way for home appraisers to donate their services to organizations like Habitat.
“This bill will help us keep affordable housing affordable,” said Jonathan Reckford, the nonprofit’s chief executive.
The measure is now pending in the U.S. Senate.
