Marjorie Taylor Greene defends stock buys during tariff turmoil
Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Georgia hasn’t settled with a major health insurance company.
- Raphael Warnock backs a big expansion of the child tax credit.
- U.S. Senate tees up confirmation vote for David Perdue.
MTG’s portfolio
In the days after markets tumbled following President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements, a financial adviser for U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene scooped up stocks from some of Wall Street’s biggest losers.
But the stock market rallied following Trump’s announcement he would pause the tariffs, potentially giving Greene a nice return on the investment. Coupled with her other recent purchases in the bond market, it’s raised questions from Democrats about how much Greene knew about the policy whiplash before her adviser acted.
“We need an investigation into insider trading by people like Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene,” U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, said during a news conference last week. “We need an investigation into whether any K Street lobbyists or other big firms were tipped off by Donald Trump’s actions.”
Trump urged people to buy stocks before he announced the pause on most tariffs. And his decision to pause the policy appeared to surprise some of his policy advisers.
Greene said she signed a fiduciary agreement to allow her financial adviser to control her investments independently so that she keeps a hands-off approach to her portfolio.
“All of my investments are reported with full transparency. I refuse to hide my stock trades in a blind trust like many others do,” she said in a statement.
A week prior to Trump’s April 2 announcement of massive tariffs, Greene purchased a U.S. Treasury bond worth between $100,001 and $250,000. (House Ethics Rules only require amounts to be reported in ranges.) In the days after the announcement, she then reported two dozen stock purchases on a variety of U.S. based companies, each worth between $1,001 and $15,000.
Allegations of nefarious stock trading were a major issue in Georgia’s 2020 U.S. Senate elections. At the time, then Republican U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue were among the wealthiest members of Congress. The Senate Ethics Committee dismissed complaints filed against them and both senators have said they have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who defeated Perdue and is up for reelection in 2026, filed legislation last year that would have banned lawmakers from trading stocks. It did not pass.
Things to know
Good morning! Gov. Brian Kemp has 30 days left to either sign or veto bills passed by the state Legislature this year. He’s signed six bills into law so far and hasn’t vetoed anything yet. You can keep track at the AJC’s legislative navigator.
Here are five things to know for today:
- A four-year pause in student loan repayments has ended. As the AJC’s Jason Armesto reports, things are not going smoothly. Experts fear the turmoil could result in more borrowers defaulting on their loans.
- The AJC’s Michelle Baruchman takes a look at state Rep. Carolyn Hugley’s first session as the minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives
- President Donald Trump’s doctor says the oldest man elected president is “fully fit” to serve as commander in chief.
- Just before Georgia’s legislative session, the AJC published more than a dozen essays from teachers, elected officials, policy experts and students about what they thought lawmakers should do on education. We followed up with them to see what grade they would give lawmakers.
- The AJC’s Riley Bunch interviewed Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman as he wraps up his tenure this year.
Last one left
Health insurance giant Centene Corp. has been settling with dozens of states over allegations it overcharged their Medicaid programs for prescription drugs. The company’s recent settlement with Florida appears to leave Georgia as the lone holdout.
The Florida settlement has been in the news lately after revelations the state directed the company to donate $10 million to a welfare assistance project led by the wife of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
At least 20 states have settled with Missouri-based Centene, resulting in payouts totaling more than $1 billion. Florida and Georgia had appeared to be some of the last holdouts, according to KFF Health News.
Florida and Georgia are both represented by the Liston & Deas law firm. Gov. Brian Kemp’s administration hired the firm in 2019 and Florida followed suit in 2021.
The status of Georgia’s settlement talks is unclear. Most of these deals are happening outside of the court system, making it difficult for the public to keep track of what’s happening. We reached out to Centene but we haven’t heard back.
The Georgia Department of Community Health said it did “not have an update at this time.”
For what it’s worth, Centene recently lost a lucrative contract to manage care for about 45% of Georgia’s roughly 2 million Medicaid patients. The company filed a protest over that decision.
Taking credit
As Democrats and Republicans battle over the budget this summer, one thing to keep an eye on is the popular child tax credit. Who will get the credit for saving it?
The credit reduces the tax bill for low-income families with children. If the credit is larger than the taxes owed — which, in most cases, it is — then the families get the money back in a refund.
The credit has mostly been associated with Democrats ever since it was first implemented in 1997 when Bill Clinton was president. But Republicans, recognizing the credit’s political potential, have been angling to get in on it, too.
President Donald Trump doubled the tax credit to $2,000 during his first term. President Joe Biden temporarily bumped up the maximum credit to $3,600 for one year in 2021. Now, the credit is scheduled to revert back to $1,000 unless Congress intervenes.
Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has co-authored a proposal to more than double the credit to $4,320 for children 6 and under and $3,600 for children between the ages of 6 and 17. It would also include a $2,400 one-time payment for newborns.
“It’s important to emphasize that this is a tax cut,” Warnock said. “We know that when ordinary people thrive, the whole economy thrives.”
The Georgia Legislature this year passed a $250 state income tax credit for each child under age 6. The bill was a priority of Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is likely to run for governor in 2026.
Open for burial
State Rep. Josh Bonner, R-Fayetteville, sponsored a bill this year to open the state’s veterans cemeteries to members of the National Guard or reserve forces. It unanimously passed the state Legislature and is awaiting Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature. It’s one of hundreds of bills Kemp must decide whether to sign or veto by May 14.
“I think that we don’t do enough for our veterans here in Georgia,” Bonner told his colleagues during a committee hearing last month. “This is seemingly a small thing, but I think it sends a great message.”
Georgia operates two veterans cemeteries, one in Glennville and the other in Milledgeville. But the criteria for who can be buried there has long been indirectly set by the federal government.
The Department of Veterans Affairs provides grants for these cemeteries. The funding was often contingent on following strict eligibility rules for burial. That meant most Georgia National Guard members couldn’t be buried there.
But things changed in 2021, when Congress passed a law banning those restrictions. Since then, about 25 states have revised their laws to open their state-run veterans cemeteries to National Guard members. Georgia could soon join them.
Listen up
Today on “Politically Georgia,” the hosts talk with Georgia Chamber of Commerce President Chris Clark about how companies are navigating President Donald Trump’s trade war. Plus, we answer questions from the listener mailbag.
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.
Today in Washington
- President Donald Trump will meet at the White House with Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, and with members of Ohio State University’s national championship football team.
- The U.S. House and Senate are in recess until April 28.
Perdue vote
Mark your calendars: former Georgia U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s confirmation as ambassador to China will be the first order of business when the Senate returns from recess two weeks from today.
Perdue received a bipartisan vote of support from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week.
The Senate has a procedural vote scheduled on Perdue’s nomination for April 28, and his confirmation is likely to occur the following day.
Shoutouts
Today’s birthday:
- State Rep. Mandi Ballinger, R-Canton.
Belated birthday:
- State Rep. Matt Hatchett, R-Dublin (was Saturday).
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
Relive Sine Die at the state Capitol with Greg Bluestein in this AJC video. It’s a great look at the intensity of the final day of the legislative session. Plus, you can get Greg’s thoughts about whether he can pull off a cowboy hat.
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.
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