Georgians in Congress brace for new Democratic majorities
Democrats in Georgia’s congressional delegation stand to move into new chairmanships as their party takes control in the U.S. House and Senate in January.
That looming new power also has Georgia Democrats considering how to wield it in the final weeks of this year where Republicans hold a slim majority and where there is still major legislation pending.
With just five work weeks scheduled through the end of the year, there is a great deal of uncertainty about how much Congress can accomplish before the holiday break and how much the transition in power will influence what gets done.
Taking (or giving up) the gavel
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has talked about how much more enjoyable the first two years in the Senate were when Democrats held the majority compared with the past four years in the minority. Back in 2021, he and Ossoff were instrumental in giving Democrats that slim majority and were rewarded with unusually prominent spots for freshman lawmakers.
Ossoff has shown an aptitude for leading congressional investigations, but more recently he has focused on moving up the ranks on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. He is currently the top Democrat on the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies giving him spending oversight for military bases and facilities across the nation, include nearly a dozen in Georgia.
Warnock serves as the ranking member on the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy and the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness. He could become chair of at least one of them in the new Congress, although committee assignments and chairmanships have not been finalized.
Georgia House Democrats also hold ranking spots on several committees, putting them in position to take over as chair come January. While no decisions have been made there either, the list of possibilities include:
- U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies
- U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet
- U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance
Besides her committee work, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, serves as whip of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, the second-in-command for that group, potentially giving her a platform to help lead the conversation on issues like maternal health and abortion rights in the new Congress.
And McBath is second vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, putting her on a trajectory to eventually lead what is Democrats’ most visible caucus in the coming years.
The delegation’s four new members — Democratic U.S. Rep.-elect Jasmine Clark and Republicans Houston Gaines, John Cowan and Jim Kingston — are awaiting their committee assignments.
While Georgia Republicans will mostly take a back seat as members of the minority party, U.S. Rep. Brian Jack will be in a leadership role as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the party’s campaign arm for House races. That will require him to travel the nation recruiting candidates and fundraising ahead of the 2028 elections.
Democrats setting the agenda
While Democrats hold just five of Georgia’s 14 U.S. House seats, they are preparing to use their influence in the new majority to advance more of their own bills and seek funding for their districts.
Clark spent eight years in the statehouse, but she never served in the majority. She said she is excited to see what Democrats can accomplish over the next two years in Washington.
“We’ve been on a campaign trail, and we’ve heard from all these people about what’s troubling them, what’s concerning them, what’s keeping them up at night,” the Lilburn Democrat said. “And now is our opportunity to show that the policies that we want do work.”
Clark said Democrats are also coming up with a strategy for dealing with President Donald Trump, who in recently days has wobbled between indicating he will try to find common ground with the Democrat-led House and Senate and positioning himself to fight them at every turn.
Democrats plan to send the bills to him anyway and put Trump on the hot seat in either signing legislation, vetoing it or allowing it to become law without his signature like he did with the bipartisan housing bill over the summer.
If Trump vetoes popular proposals, then the focus will come back on Republicans who will choose between helping Democrats override the veto or supporting the president.
Will Republicans play ball?
Even in this lame-duck session where Republicans have a slim majority, Democrats can block Republican legislation with the confidence of knowing they will come to power in a matter of weeks.
The biggest fight ahead could be over government funding, which is set to run out on Dec. 11. Democrats on both sides of the aisle say part of their mandate from voters is to end the war in Iran, but the question is will they shut down the government if funding for the war is not stripped out.
Warnock said he would support a war powers resolution to end the war but stopped short of backing a government funding fight over the issue.
“I think we should do everything we can to fund the government,” the Atlanta Democrat told reporters Monday.
Another is the National Defense Authorization Act, which Congress has approved annually for decades. But it has also been bogged down in recent weeks over concerns not just about Iran but funding for Israel and even the crackdown on the international drug trade the Trump administration has used to justify attacks on vessels in international waters.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle say they are keeping voters in mind as they consider the fights that lay ahead, noting that the message was loud and clear on Election Day to focus on affordability. Clark said that will guide how she votes on defense spending.
“We end this war because it is contributing to so much of the financial strain that families are feeling,” she said. “But I also think that people are ready to see something different when it comes to healthcare.”
That happens to also be a topic that Cowan, the first neurosurgeon elected to Congress, said is ripe for bipartisan agreement in the new Congress.
“Healthcare is a nonpartisan issue,” he said. “Both sides understand the healthcare is broken, and we will incrementally get it better and better each year.”
Who will lead?
House Republicans on Tuesday made Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan their new leader, with his backers saying the ultraconservative hard-liner will provide the fresh voice needed to stand up to Democrats in January.
New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is not expected to face serious opposition in his quest to become the first Black House speaker, and even Senate GOP leader John Thune of South Dakota ultimately overcame questions about whether he should stay in the role and was re-elected to another term.
The biggest remaining leadership question is whether Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has run out of time. Although his strategy was crediting with helping Democrats flip at least seven seats, there is a vocal flank on the left who believes it is time to allow the next generation, possibly Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, to take the reins come January.
Warnock noted that Schumer was effective during the campaign season but said he wants potential challengers to make their case.
“Any of my colleagues who think that they’re the person who can step up in this moment, I’ll hear them out,” Warnock said.