Georgia GOP turns Democrats’ walkout on transgender bill into campaign fuel

Georgia Democrats walked out of the state House in April to protest a bill that made sure taxpayer money couldn’t be used for gender-affirming care for prison inmates. Now, Republicans want to make sure voters don’t forget it.

The House Republican Caucus is out with a new digital ad today that highlights footage of the mass exodus for voters in districts of vulnerable Democrats. It’s a reaction to the Democrats’ highly publicized push to flip the chamber during the 2026 midterms. That’s a possibility Republicans must guard against amid President Donald Trump’s plummeting poll numbers and a high-stakes U.S. Senate contest that’s sure to drive up turnout statewide.

Republicans believe the walkout was a gift, especially since GOP polling shows wide support for the transgender bill. But they’re also hoping Democrats’ decision to enlist help from Stacey Abrams will backfire, believing the failed two-time candidate for governor will put more districts in play.

Among the state House Democrats the ad is targeting:

Republicans even bought ads in state Rep. Jasmine Clark’s Gwinnett County-based House District 108 even though she announced her run for Congress last week. Long one of the most competitive House districts in the state, party leaders believe the the seat is ripe for the taking in 2026 if there is no incumbent on the ballot.

“If doubling down on failed candidates and using your money to pay for sex change surgeries for prisoners is the platform House Democrats want to run on, we are more than happy to share that message,” said Carmen Bergman, executive director of the House Republican Caucus.

Democrats, meanwhile, countered with a spoof ad of their own. And state Rep. David Wilkerson, D-Powder Springs, mocked Republicans for spending their off-season “hanging out on private boats at some marina doing another big fundraiser.”

“I walked out because Republicans refused to take up our bills on affordable housing, education and all the other priorities that we are proposing to help Georgia families,” he said.

Things to know

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Good morning! We’re 12 days away from the primary for the Public Service Commission. So far, just over 25,000 people have cast ballots, representing a turnout of 0.3%.

Here are three other things to know for today:

Fish politics

Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

Florida’s anglers will have more than four months to catch red snapper along the Gulf Coast this year. But Georgians will be lucky if they get one day.

That difference is a big problem for the state’s recreational fishing industry, as red snapper are some of the most sought after prizes among anglers itching for some deep sea adventure.

Florida’s Gulf Coast season is so much longer because they do their own surveys of the red snapper population, proving there are plenty of fish in the sea. But states like Georgia and South Carolina, whose coasts bump up against the South Atlantic Ocean, rely on data from the federal government that critics say is based on flawed surveys.

Now, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina want to count their own fish in the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to extend the recreational fishing season and boost tourism. On Wednesday, the states’ Republican governors sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick asking for permission to manage the fishing season themselves.

“Our fishing industry has suffered under heavy handed federal regulations imposed by bureaucrats thousands of miles away. It’s time this industry is managed much closer to home!” Gov. Brian Kemp posted on X.

Georgia is trying to get a head start. The state budget this year includes $349,000 for the Department of Natural Resources to begin doing its own surveys. Plus, a bill pending in the state Legislature would create a $10 reef fishing permit to fund future data collection.

It would take about three years for Georgia to collect enough data to begin extending the fishing season, according to Russell Kent, a member of the Government Relations and Advocacy Committee with the Coastal Conservation Association of Georgia.

“Our goal is to manage the fishery properly … in a responsible way,” he said. “It’s not management if all you do is shut down the fishery.”

Aviation ‘sabotage’

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

It’s been just over a year since Congress passed a massive Federal Aviation Administration law. Now, Georgia U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson is accusing the Trump administration of sabotaging it.

The law was signed during the Biden administration, but the bulk of its implementation will come under President Donald Trump. It includes more than 500 mandates for the FAA and the Department of Transportation, two agencies that have lost lots of workers during a purge by the Department of Government Efficiency initiative.

“You don’t modernize aviation by laying off the professionals who keep planes in the sky and passengers alive,” Johnson said during a public hearing on Wednesday. “Congress did its job and the administration now needs to do theirs.”

Delayed implementation of the FAA law is nothing new in Congress. Several provisions from laws Congress passed as far back as 2016 still haven’t been implemented. Still, Texas U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls told lawmakers he is “extremely confident that the Trump administration will get this right.”

Travel ban

Credit: Alex Brandon/AP

Credit: Alex Brandon/AP

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced he would bar citizens from 12 mostly Muslim countries from visiting the United States and restrict travel from seven others.

The move harkens back to Trump’s first term when travel bans were a hallmark of his foreign policy.

The ban takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m., as compared to 2017 when Trump implemented a similar measure with no notice. It covers the nations of Afghanistan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, the Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The countries with heightened travel restrictions are Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

In a video posted to his Truth Social account, Trump tied the new ban to Sunday’s terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, that left 15 people injured after authorities say a man threw two Molotov cocktails at a group demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

The man accused of carrying out the plot is an Egyptian national who federal authorities say was living in the U.S. illegally. Trump said the incident is a reminder of the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay their visas.

Listen up

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Today on “Politically Georgia,” Republican state Sen. Brian Strickland of McDonough joins the show to discuss his newly announced race for Georgia attorney general. Then, AJC City Hall reporter Riley Bunch talks about former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ bid for governor.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

You can listen and subscribe to the show for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Keeping score

Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

The “big, beautiful” reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. House would increase the national debt by $2.4 trillion over the next decade and leave 10.9 million people uninsured, according to the latest scoring from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Most of the deficit spending is because of the extension of tax breaks passed during President Donald Trump’s first term plus new tax cuts for seniors and on tipped wages that will reduce federal revenue. That is partially offset by $1.3 trillion in spending reductions, mostly in adjustments to the Medicaid and food stamps programs.

The bill is pending in the Senate, where Republicans will likely make changes. Some conservatives want to reduce the impact on the deficit while others have concerns about the impact of potential cuts to safety net programs.

Democrats, meanwhile, want to scrap the whole thing.

“They’re cutting health care for kids and then saddling them with the debt from their billionaire tax cut,” Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock said. “Shameful. I will not vote for this disastrous, immoral bill.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, dismissed the CBO report, saying they don’t use “realistic economic forecasting.”

“Don’t be fooled by partisan activists,” he said.

Today in Washington

Credit: Markus Schreiber/AP

Credit: Markus Schreiber/AP

Happenings:

Shoutouts

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Before you go

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

The return to in-person work for some federal employees in Atlanta was short-lived after a water leak forced the closure of 11 floors in the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center. Impacted employees will be out of the building through at least Friday and maybe longer.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.