Derek Dooley urges Congress to give NCAA the power to enforce its rules

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• Carlos Vilela launches primary challenge to Gabriel Sanchez.
• Rick Jackson pledges to make health care system cost effective.
• Marty Brown drops out of race to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Fixing college sports

Gov. Brian Kemp (right) has endorsed Republican Derek Dooley for the U.S. Senate. (Courtesy photo, AJC)

If you’ve been following Republican U.S. Senate candidate Derek Dooley then you know the former football coach can’t resist a deep dive on college athletics. At a campaign event on Thursday he explained his fixation with his old gig.

Sharing the stage at the Park Bench Battery with Gov. Brian Kemp, Dooley was asked whether Congress should rein in the “wild west” of college athletics in an era of players being paid millions of dollars, transfer portal chaos and an NCAA struggling to enforce its own rules.

He leaned in with relish.

“Everyone perked up. And this issue should really matter to everybody, even if you’re not a fan of college football,” he said scanning a crowd of dozens. “It teaches values that are going to last a lifetime.”

His first prescription: congressional action to carve out space in federal law so the NCAA can enforce rules without being overruled by the courts.

“They should get off their butt. It shouldn’t be Republicans versus Democrats. They need to provide some protection,” he said.

If Congress won’t act, Dooley says the alternative is to admit college sports is effectively professionalized and treat athletes like employees — something the NCAA has strongly opposed.

“There’s tradeoffs to both. Either way, either path is better than what we’re doing now,” he said. “If I go to the Senate, it’s going to be a mission of mine to educate everybody, bring them around the table and show them how important it is.”

After the event, Dooley was asked about the FBI raid on Fulton County’s election office — a probe Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff has dismissed as a “sore loser’s crusade.”

“We’ll see what they uncover. But what I do know is I have a lot of faith in our election system,” Dooley said, mentioning Kemp’s reelection victory in 2022. ”But that doesn’t mean we don’t have to remain vigilant. We always do.”

Friday news quiz

Former state Sen. John F. Kennedy is a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Good morning! Former state Sen. John F. Kennedy leads a new poll of Republican candidates for lieutenant governor with 16%. Other potential rivals registered at or below 5%. Nearly 70% of GOP voters said they’re still undecided. Now it’s time for our weekly news quiz. You’ll find the answers at the end of this newsletter.

State lawmakers passed a big school safety bill last year. What new security measure are they considering this year?

• A) Arming teachers with nonlethal weapons and training on how to use them.
• B) Placing armed drones in schools to rapidly respond to shooting incidents.
• C) Installing mobile panic rooms in classrooms.
• D) Requiring metal detectors at middle schools and high schools.

An FBI affidavit released this week lists 11 witnesses as part of an investigation into Fulton County’s 2020 presidential election. They include who?

• A) Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
• B) Election advocate Garland Favorito.
• C) Fulton County Commissioner Bridget Thorne.
• D) Gabriel Sterling, former CEO of the Georgia secretary of state’s office.

The leader of a major state agency announced his retirement this week. Who was it?

• A) Georgia Ports Authority President and CEO Griff Lynch.
• B) Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry.
• C) Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Commissioner Kevin Tanner.
• D) Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson.

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones revealed details of his plan to eliminate the state income tax for most people. How is he proposing to pay for it?

• A) Raising the state sales tax by 5%.
• B) A 10% across-the-board spending cut for state agencies.
• C) Raising the corporate income tax by 6%.
• D) Eliminating more than $1 billion in tax breaks for businesses.

Suburban showdown

State Rep. Gabriel Sanchez spoke to participants at a rally against aggressive tactics used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

The only Democratic Socialist to win a seat in the state Legislature is now facing a primary challenger.

Smyrna attorney Carlos Vilela announced today he will run against incumbent Gabriel Sanchez. He’s promising to bring what he calls “decency, stability and effective leadership” to the Smyrna-based seat.

“During decisive times, let’s lead with empathy and courage,” Vilela said. “I am aware of what it means to be an immigrant looking for a home.”

Sanchez made waves in 2024 when he ousted Democratic incumbent Teri Anulewicz. That victory signaled progressives could win in the suburbs.

Now it’s shaping up as one of the Legislature’s more closely watched primaries. Sanchez has been among the chamber’s most frequent “no” votes — a posture that has frustrated some fellow Democrats. But allies say he’s also worked across ideological lines, pushing measures aimed at lowering housing costs and boosting workers’ pay.

Campaign promises

Health care business owner Rick Jackson is a Republican candidate for governor. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Republican billionaire Rick Jackson is making sweeping promises as he barrels into the governor’s race. He’s starting with a pledge to become President Donald Trump’s go-to governor.

In an interview with conservative radio host Erick Erickson, Jackson said he plans to be Trump’s “number one favorite governor.” He also accused rival Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, whom Trump has endorsed, of squandering the president’s support.

“He’s been completely lazy and hasn’t worked for it,” Jackson said. “We need someone who is going to work like hell, just like President Trump does.”

Jackson has framed his campaign as a results-driven outsider bid, leaning heavily on his business credentials. Nowhere is that clearer than on health care.

Jackson founded Jackson Healthcare, which helps place doctors, nurses and other medical professionals in temporary jobs. He said the state is “going to have the most cost effective health care system in the country or I will quit.”

“We are not going to be able to rely on the feds to solve this problem,” he said, adding: “I know exactly what it’s going to take. I know exactly how health care works.”

Georgia 11th

U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach still hasn’t decided whether he will run to replace the retiring U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk in Georgia’s 11th Congressional District. But others are quietly maneuvering.

Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore is weighing a bid. So is Rob Adkerson, Loudermilk’s top aide. And state Rep. Jordan Ridley of Woodstock is testing the waters.

They could join Dr. John Cowan, the Rome neurosurgeon who finished second to Marjorie Taylor Greene in a 2020 runoff for a neighboring seat.

Georgia 14th

Former state Sen. Colton Moore is a Republican candidate for Congress. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Republican Marty Brown announced during a forum last night that he is dropping out of the race to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress. Instead, he’s going to challenge GOP incumbent state Sen. Chuck Payne.

Another Republican, Jared Craig, has also withdrawn and endorsed former Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Clay Fuller. President Donald Trump has also endorsed Fuller.

But it is former state Sen. Colton Moore who continues to win straw polls among GOP activists. Moore previously received the backing of the conservative Georgia Republican Assembly. During Thursday night’s forum, sponsored by the Georgia Republican Party, Moore received 85 votes, more than double the 37 cast for Fuller, who landed in second place.

Fuller did emerge as the victor of a third straw poll held during a forum earlier this week hosted by the Cobb County Republican Women’s Club and Paulding County Republican Women.

Listen up

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Homeland Security showdown

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., spoke to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Thursday. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Congress adjourned for the week without approving funding for agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, all but guaranteeing a partial government shutdown at midnight.

Democrats said that the latest offers from the White House to address immigration enforcement policies fell far short of their demands. And in the Senate, Republicans did not have the votes needed to pass stand-alone Homeland Security funding.

Congress is scheduled to be in recess all next week, although if a deal is reached members could be called back. It’s more likely members will try to reach an agreement that can be approved once lawmakers return as scheduled on Feb. 23.

In the meantime, workers for agencies like the Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard, Secret Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency will either be sent home or required to work without pay. The impact to the public will be minimal initially.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol are also DHS agencies. But they both received a windfall in funding in the “big, beautiful” spending law last year that can sustain them during the shutdown.

Today in Washington

President Donald Trump (left) spoke during an event with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin at the White House on Thursday. (Evan Vucc/AP)

Happenings:

• President Donald Trump will speak to military families at Fort Bragg and meet with members of the special forces who carried out the operation in Venezuela that led to the removal of President Nicolás Maduro.
• The House and Senate are done for the week.

Juvenile detention

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is up for reelection this year. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Republican U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans of Virginia on Thursday released their first report about children with special needs who have been incarcerated across the country.

The report focused on a survey of facilities where minors with mental health conditions have been detained, including those who were awaiting formal charges.

Seventy-five facilities in 25 states reported detaining children who were eligible for release to mental health facilities that did not have space to accommodate them. More than half said they had detained children that met this criteria for at least a month. In some cases it was up to a year.

“No child in America should be locked up instead of getting the mental health care they need and deserve,” Ossoff said. “The results of our bipartisan investigation shock the conscience and demand action, and I will continue working in the Senate to expose the mistreatment of America’s children.”

Shoutouts

Today’s birthday: