Atlanta Braves icons take opposite sides on Trump’s immigration crackdown
Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Raphael Warnock travels to Minnesota to offer spiritual guidance.
- Greater Georgia pushes back against Brian Kemp’s budget proposal.
- Steve Scalise endorses Houston Gaines for Congress.
Braves split
President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has divided America — and apparently the Atlanta Braves’ clubhouse.
Over the weekend, a player and a coach appeared to weigh in on the fury prompted by the shooting death 37-year-old Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent in Minnesota.
Chipper Jones, who spent his entire Hall of Fame career mostly playing third base for the Braves and has been a part-time hitting consultant for the team, posted cryptically on X: “Less talk…..more handcuffs!” Legions of commenters took to mean he was backing federal law enforcement.
Meanwhile, Spencer Strider, the Braves star right-handed pitcher, took to Instagram to post a drawing depicting the Boston Massacre that preceded the Revolutionary War. He later posted a statement from former President Barack Obama criticizing the “unprecedented tactics” by federal immigration agents.
Nationally, a new Reuters poll shows support for Trump’s immigration policies hit a record low, with just 39% approving while 53% disapprove.
Of course, it’s not unusual for Braves players to wade into current events. The late Henry Aaron once said he would not visit the White House as part of a championship team while Donald Trump was in office. “There’s nobody there I want to see,” he said in 2018.
And former Braves relief pitcher John Rocker has never been shy about sharing his opinion, including in an issue of Sports Illustrated about 26 years ago when he said he didn’t like all of “the foreigners” in New York City.
But it was still striking to see two of the team’s most prominent voices on opposite sides of a polarizing political issue, particularly in baseball. A recent study by VoteHub found 53% of Major League Baseball players across 24 states are registered Republicans. That’s the most of any of the nation’s professional sports leagues. The WNBA had the highest number of registered Democrats at 67.5%.
Things to know
Good morning! On this day 241 years ago, the Georgia General Assembly issued a charter for the institution that would become the University of Georgia.
Here are three other things to know for today:
- U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s office says it has identified more than 1,000 credible reports of human rights abuses inside the U.S. immigration detention system during President Donald Trump’s first year back in office, the AJC’s Lautaro Grinspan reports.
- Twenty state employees — mostly university athletic coaches — made more than $1 million and 141 earned more than $500,000 in the past fiscal year, according to a review of the state’s latest salary data, the AJC’s Phoebe Quinton reports.
- A federal appellate court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging Georgia’s authority to take over county election boards, the AJC’s Caleb Groves reports.
Countdown to shutdown
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock will travel to Minneapolis this morning to meet with faith leaders, offering spiritual guidance to a community impacted by the shooting deaths of two people by federal immigration agents.
Warnock, who is often mentioned as a potential 2028 candidate for president, is one of the first Democrats to make this trip. He will also visit a memorial for Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old Veterans Affairs nurse who died on Saturday.
Meanwhile, members of the U.S. Senate return for votes this evening. Top of mind is a package of six appropriations bills that must pass by Friday to thwart a partial government shutdown.
Senate Democrats, including Warnock and Jon Ossoff — both Atlanta Democrats — and have pledged to vote against the appropriations bills unless funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement is removed or civil liberties protections are added. So far, Republicans have not indicated they are willing to do either.
Because of the 60 vote threshold to avoid a filibuster, Republicans need at least a few Democrats to pass funding bills. And so far, not one Democrat has indicated they are willing to break party ranks on this issue, although things could change as the shutdown deadline approaches.
One factor that could sway some Democrats is that it is impossible to block ICE funding without also affecting other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration.
This week’s winter storm, which resulted in massive airport delays and will require emergency dollars to assist cities and states during the thaw out, provided the latest example of why these agencies need dollars.
That could be a compelling argument to offset Democrats’ concerns about ICE enforcement in Minneapolis and the deaths of two people at the hands of officers carrying out raids.
For now, however, Democrats say it is up to Republicans to work with them on the issue or carry the blame for forcing a shutdown.
GOP pushback
The Greater Georgia political organization founded by former Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler is pushing back on Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposal to spend $5 million on a post-election hand recount of two races in November.
The group argues that recounts may be a backstop but they don’t solve Georgia’s continued reliance on QR-code ballots.
A state law passed two years ago bars Georgia from using QR codes to tally ballots after July 1, 2026. But Kemp’s budget includes no funding for the required overhaul, and lawmakers have yet to spell out how they’ll meet the mandate.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger underscored that point at budget hearings last week, saying he still lacks the funding to update a system that displays choices on touchscreen machines and then prints paper ballots with QR codes containing voters’ selections.
Tabulation machines then use the QR codes to count ballots. Critics say the system is dangerous because voters can’t read the QR codes to verify their ballot is accurate.
Greater Georgia says the recount money “simply concedes to an already broken system” and urged lawmakers to focus instead on fully replacing QR-code ballots before the deadline.
The group outlined three demands for any election integrity package: full funding and a realistic timeline to replace QR-code ballots statewide; human-readable, voter-verifiable ballots counted based on what voters can confirm; and enough time and resources for local officials to implement the changes consistently.
Meat debate
One of Georgia’s newest state senators is wading into the debate about lab-grown meat.
Sen. Jason Dickerson, R-Canton, took office late last year after winning a special election to replace former Sen. Brandon Beach. He’s introduced Senate Bill 415, which would ban the production, distribution and sale of lab-grown meat in Georgia.
“The creation and use of lab-grown meat takes business away from our farmers and introduces potential risks to our food supply,” he said.
Seven states, including Alabama and Florida, have banned lab-grown meat. But Georgia lawmakers have shown little interest in following them. A similar bill in the House has Democratic and Republican co-sponsors but did not get a vote last year.
Instead, the House passed a bill that would require restaurants disclose if they serve lab-grown meat. The bill did not get a vote in the Senate, but it’s still alive this year.
Endorsement watch
U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise endorsed state Rep. Houston Gaines of Athens for Congress on Monday, adding to the Republican’s impressive list of backers as he seeks to replace Mike Collins.
Collins, of course, is running for the U.S. Senate, creating an opening for Gaines. Scalise is the second member of the Republican House Caucus’ leadership team to endorse Gaines, joining U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. Scalise called Gaines “a principled conservative who gets results.”
Under the Gold Dome
It’s day seven of the legislative session. Some happenings:
- 11 a.m.: House convenes.
- 1 p.m.: Senate convenes.
- 2:30 p.m.: House Judiciary Committee meets to consider House Resolution 251, proposing a constitutional amendment to require the nonpartisan elections of probate judges.
- 3 p.m.: Senate Children and Families Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 402, which would create a pilot program to screen children in foster care for autism spectrum disorder.
- 5 p.m.: Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee meets to discuss Senate Bill 34, which aims to prevent power bills from increasing because of data centers.
Listen up
Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast we discuss the fallout from the fatal federal immigration enforcement shootings in Minneapolis and how it is impacting Georgia politics.
You can listen and subscribe to Politically Georgia for free an 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.
Today in Washington
- President Donald Trump will travel to the suburbs of Des Moines, Iowa, to deliver a speech on energy and the economy.
- The Senate returns this evening for a procedural vote on legislation to require colleges to provide information about anti-abortion pregnancy resource centers.
- The House is out this week.
Shoutouts
Today’s birthday:
- Former state Rep. Gregg Kennard.
Transitions:
- Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed Josh Waters to the State Board of Pardons and Paroles.
- Quentin “Q” Mays is the new executive director for the Georgia Alliance for Progress.
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.
Before you go
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has called for a boycott of the World Cup this summer to protest President Donald Trump’s policies at home and abroad. Atlanta is scheduled to host eight matches.
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.
About the Authors
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
Tia Mitchell is the AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief and a co-host of the "Politically Georgia" podcast. She writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on residents of the Peach State.
Patricia Murphy is the AJC's senior political columnist. She was previously a nationally syndicated columnist for CQ Roll Call, national political reporter for the Daily Beast and Politics Daily, and wrote for The Washington Post and Garden & Gun. She graduated from Vanderbilt and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
