Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Iran airstrikes divide MAGA Republicans.
- Jon Ossoff responds to criticism from pro-Israel group.
- Senate parliamentarian takes issue with “big, beautiful” bill.
Senate race issue?
Credit: Miguel Martinez /AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez /AJC
Three years after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Georgia Democrats are ramping up efforts to spotlight abortion access — and target GOP Senate hopefuls who back new restrictions.
The Democratic Party of Georgia is launching a campaign tied to Tuesday’s anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision ending the constitutional right to an abortion.
The push includes news conferences in Atlanta and Savannah and a new minute-long ad out this morning that labels Georgia’s 2019 anti-abortion law “extreme and dangerous.”
The ad also targets three prominent Republicans: U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins as well as Insurance Commissioner John King. They support the state’s abortion restriction and are either declared or potential U.S. Senate contenders against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff.
The Democrat, meanwhile, has held his own hearing on Georgia’s abortion restriction — and recently released a survey of obstetricians that found many have delayed care because of the ambiguity of the state’s law.
Gov. Brian Kemp and his Republicans allies have fiercely defended the state law, which is facing a legal challenge, as a way to ensure “the lives of Georgians at all ages are protected.”
The new campaign comes as national Democrats also aim to refocus attention on the issue. A Senate forum is planned this week targeting a provision in the GOP-backed spending bill that would block Medicaid payments to abortion providers that received more than $1 million in federal reimbursements in 2024. The move could gut funding to Planned Parenthood.
Things to know
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Good morning! We’re 22 days away from the Democratic primary runoff in the Georgia Public Service Commission race between former state legislator Keisha Sean Waites and Peter Hubbard. The winner faces Republican incumbent Fitz Johnson in November’s general election.
Here are three other things to know today:
- A nonprofit group specializing in acquiring at-risk lands has purchased property near the Okefenokee Swamp, putting an immediate halt to a controversial effort to mine in the area, the AJC’s Drew Kann reports.
- If the fighting between Israel and Iran becomes a broader conflict in the Middle East, military units based in Georgia could play a significant role, the AJC’s Jeremy Redmon wrote in an article published Saturday ahead of the U.S. strikes.
- Proposed spending cuts in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget bill could cost rural hospitals in Georgia about $540 million over 10 years, according to a report by the American Hospital Association. Another analysis warns that those reductions put four state hospitals “at risk” of closing. The AJC’s Ariel Hart has more on the breakdown.
Iran strikes spark discord
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
President Donald Trump’s decision to launch airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend exposed rifts within both parties.
As we reported, most senior Georgia Republicans swiftly praised the attacks, which Trump framed as a necessary step to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
But U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Rome Republican and pro-Trump firebrand, reflected the friction within the MAGA base. She and some other Trump loyalists feel the president betrayed his campaign promises to end “forever wars” with the airstrikes.
“I don’t want to fight or fund nuclear-armed Israel’s wars,” she said in a lengthy social media post.
Much of the Democratic reaction, meanwhile, focused on Trump’s refusal to seek congressional approval before ordering the attacks.
“Checks and balances exist for times such as this: when we have a president with a history of ignoring his own advisers and intelligence, telling lies, and making rash decisions that could have catastrophic consequences,” said state Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Lilburn Democrat and a 2026 congressional candidate.
Yet not all Democrats were critical. State Rep. Esther Panitch, a Sandy Springs Democrat and the Legislature’s only Jewish member, credited Trump for the show of force. “God bless the USA and Israel,” she said.
There was also plenty of focus on U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, the state’s first Jewish U.S. senator. After facing backlash for not immediately weighing in on Israel’s earlier strike on Iran, Ossoff issued a statement just hours after the U.S. attack:
“I pray for the safety of U.S. military servicemembers deployed around the world and express my admiration for their courage and professionalism,” he said.
“Congress must be promptly and fully briefed on tonight’s operation and consulted on the Administration’s strategy.”
Ossoff’s AIPAC trouble
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Speaking of U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, Georgia’s first Jewish senator has been at odds for more than a year with some members of the Jewish community over his posture toward Israel and its war in Gaza, including a 2024 vote to withhold some arms sales to Israel.
On Friday, the day before U.S. forces bombed Iranian nuclear facilities, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee sent a blistering email to supporters with the subject, “Jon Ossoff is Failing our Community.”
The powerful pro-Israel group wrote that Ossoff, who is on a modified paternity leave, had not released a public statement since the start of the latest armed conflict between Israel and Iran the week before. “This is simply unacceptable,” wrote Darren Kendall, the regional political director for AIPAC.
The message urged AIPAC members to call Ossoff’s office “to ask why he is failing the pro-Israel community.”
About an hour later, Ossoff released a lengthy statement, which had already been in the works we’re told, saying, “While I celebrate the success of Israeli air defenses downing incoming Iranian missiles, I mourn the terrible loss of life that has resulted from those that have landed.”
Another subtle split emerged between Ossoff and AIPAC within a day, when President Donald Trump ordered an unprecedented bombing raid over Iran to take out its nuclear facilities. While AIPAC commended Trump for his “historic and decisive action,” Ossoff was far more measured.
Listen up
Credit: AJC file photo
Credit: AJC file photo
Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast, state Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, joins the show to lay out his new campaign for lieutenant governor. And we’re answering your emails, DMs and calls for the Monday Mailbag.
You can listen and subscribe to the show for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 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.
Senate parliamentarian speaks
Credit: Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times
Credit: Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times
The U.S. Senate parliamentarian has ruled that several provisions in President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” either need to be taken out or changed if the spending priority legislation is to remain eligible to be passed by Republicans with a simple majority.
If the Senate heeds the parliamentarian’s guidance and makes changes, it could drastically alter some of the anticipated spending cuts and cause the bill to have an even greater impact on the national deficit. Other items related to priorities of certain members that could make it harder for the bill to gain the support needed to pass in both chambers.
Some of what the parliamentarian has ruled out of order:
- A plan to force states to pay for a portion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program costs in order to reduce government spending.
- Language that would limit the ability of federal courts to enforce contempt of court orders against the U.S. government.
- A provision that authorizes state law enforcement agencies to assist the federal government by conducting border security and immigration enforcement.
- Zeroing out all federal funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Today in Washington
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
- President Donald Trump will meet with his national security team.
- The U.S. House has votes scheduled this evening.
- The Senate will vote on more of Trump’s nominations.
- Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary committees will hold a joint hearing where Democratic state attorneys general will testify on lawsuits challenging actions taken by the Trump administration.
Shoutouts
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Birthday:
- State Rep. Inga Willis, D-Atlanta.
Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that. Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
Until next time
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.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.
AJC reporter Adam Van Brimmer contributed to this report.
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