Jon Ossoff warns GOP about Medicaid cuts: ‘Voters will be watching’

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• Georgia Republicans seek more authority in rulemaking.
• Two state senators have special bond over organ donation.
• White House appoints Gov. Brian Kemp to the Council of Governors.

Democrats have been sounding the alarm on the Republican-led plan to drastically reduce spending on safety net programs like Medicaid as part of a sweeping package that also includes tax cuts and money for new border security efforts.

But U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is framing the debate as potentially devastating not just for the Medicaid recipients who may lose access to health care but for the GOP lawmakers who back the effort.

“Georgia voters will be watching our Republican legislators very carefully to see whether they vote for these Medicaid cuts and will hold them accountable if they put their partisan agenda ahead of Georgians’ health care,” Ossoff said.

Ossoff said this warning — he repeatedly used the word “warning” — is informed by the sheer numbers in Georgia where nearly half of births, the majority of nursing home patients and two in five children are covered by Medicaid.

Other Georgia Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, have also been critical of the proposed Medicaid cuts contained in the framework of legislation Republicans intend to pass without the help of Democrats.

This plan is still taking shape, and there is a chance the Medicaid cuts could be softened or taken out altogether. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is not in favor of cutting Medicaid before coming back hours later and endorsing the GOP plan on the table.

Some Republicans in swing districts have privately expressed hesitation about the reductions and their potential impact at the ballot box.

Ossoff is up for reelection in 2026. His race is expected to be among the most hotly contested Senate seats in the country.

While Republicans hope a strong candidate, mainly Gov. Brian Kemp, could make Ossoff vulnerable, the Atlanta Democrat is sending a message to Republicans that cutting Medicaid could make him stronger among the types of voters both parties need to win.

“I am warning Republicans against Medicaid cuts,” he said. “Georgia voters are paying attention. If Republicans endanger our hospitals, children’s health care, pregnant women and seniors in nursing homes as part of their partisan agenda, voters will hold them accountable.”

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State Elections Director Blake Evans (left), spoke to the Senate Ethics Committee in Atlanta in 2023. He defended Georgia's participation in the voter registration accuracy organization called ERIC on Tuesday.

GOOD MORNING! The circus is back in town, and for once we’re not trying to be cute. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus performers will be on hand in Liberty Plaza today at 11 a.m. to receive a resolution from state Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah. The circus is returning to Georgia after an eight-year hiatus.

Here are five things to know for today:

• The U.S. Senate confirmed former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., as the next leader of the Small Business Administration. Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who defeated Loeffler in a special election in 2021, voted “no.” So did fellow Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, Tia Mitchell reports.
• Republican lawmakers who say they want more accurate voter information lists voted for a bill that would withdraw Georgia from a voter list accuracy organization, the AJC’s Mark Niesse reports.
• Georgia parents could get more help with child care costs under a bill that passed the state Senate, the AJC’s David Wickert reports.
• One month into his return to the White House, President Donald Trump’s shock and awe campaign has reshaped the federal government at breakneck speed with sweeping implications for Georgia, Greg Bluestein writes.
• Gov. Brian Kemp is scheduled to speak during the Politico 2025 Governors Summit today.

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(Left to right): State Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Republican from Cumming, is the primary author of a bill backed by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones that would make it easier for lawmakers to block state rules and regulations.

MAKING THE RULES. There’s always a natural tension in government over the shared powers between the people who make the laws and the people who implement the laws. Now, Georgia lawmakers want to take some of that power back.

A bill backed by Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — inspired by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency — would make it easier for lawmakers to block state rules and regulations.

Right now, lawmakers can object to rules and regulations imposed by state agencies. But they can’t do much about them until the Legislature is in session. Under this bill, lawmakers would have the power to halt rules and regulations by two-thirds vote of a legislative committee. The rule would not take effect until the full Legislature could review it.

“The thought here is that elected officials have a voice,” state Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, said. “They’re the backstop, is probably the best way to say it, in any sort of rule that may have unintended consequences.”

The proposal left some Democrats confused.

“For the last 20-some years, Republican — your party — is in control of all the agencies,” said state Sen. Sheikh Rahman, D-Lawrenceville. “I’m trying to figure out what rules you are trying to cut or roll back that isn’t your own, you know?

Dolezal said the expansion of state regulations “has happened under both Democratic and Republican rule.”

He added: “I don’t think it’s exclusive to any single party.”

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State Sen. Donzella James, an Atlanta Democrat, voted in favor of a bill that would set rules for the licensing and operation of emergency organ transplant vehicles in Georgia.

ORGAN DONATION. When 18-year-old Kerry Alan James showed off his first driver’s license to his mother, state Sen. Donzella James, he proudly pointed out he was an organ donor and asked her why she wasn’t.

“He said, ‘You’d be helping everybody,’” Donzella James, D-Atlanta, recalled.

About three weeks later, Kerry James was killed in a car accident involving a drunken driver and donated his organs and bone marrow to 11 people.

Donzella James said she was thinking about him this week when she voted to pass a bill that would set rules for the licensing and operation of emergency organ transplant vehicles in Georgia.

“I couldn’t bring Kerry back,” she said. “But maybe we can save other lives.”

These vehicles are similar to ambulances and are often operated by nonprofits. They have red lights and sirens to hurry through traffic to deliver the organs — or surgeons — necessary for life-saving transplant procedures.

The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. John Albers, has a life-saving story of his own. It was just over three years ago when Albers, a Roswell Republican, donated a kidney to his son, Will, who suddenly needed one at just 24-years-old. The experience has given Albers and James a special connection.

“We all go through these tough times in our personal lives, and people who serve in office are no different,” Albers said. “You have these amazing connections with different people for different reasons.”

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The Georgia Capitol in Atlanta.

UNDER THE GOLD DOME. It’s the 20th day of the legislative session. Here are some of today’s happenings:

• 10 a.m.: House convenes. Lawmakers could vote on 11 bills, including House Bill 86, which would overhaul how state judges are paid.
• 10 a.m.: Senate convenes. Lawmakers could vote on four bills and two resolutions, including Senate Resolution 23, which would ask Congress to call a convention to update the Constitution to impose term limits on House and Senate members.
• 1 p.m.: Senate Education and Youth Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 152, which would make biological or adopted children of foster parents eligible for state funding to help cover private tuition.
• 3 p.m.: Senate Committee on Regulated Industries and Utilities meets to consider Senate Bill 34, which would regulate costs incurred by utilities from data centers.
• 5 p.m.: Senate Special Committee on Investigations will hold its first meeting. Republicans created the committee to investigate Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis.

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State Sen. John F. Kennedy, a Republican from Macon, is a guest today on the "Politically Georgia" podcast.

LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” state Senate President Pro Tem John F. Kennedy will talk about Republican efforts to mimic the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency in Georgia. And Cody Hall, senior adviser to Gov. Brian Kemp, will discuss Kemp’s relationship with President Donald Trump after the administration denied the governor’s request to extend the Hurricane Helene aid deadline.

Be sure to download the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us. You can also listen live at 10 a.m. EST on 90.1 FM WABE.

On Wednesday’s show, Semafor’s Kadia Goba discussed Congress’ push to fund the federal government and the money that’s earmarked for Georgia. And Harley Adsit, deputy chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, talked about her side hustle co-hosting Capitol Hill’s cult favorite podcast, “Crime in Congress.”

This week marks the first month of Trump’s second term. Do you have thoughts about his return to the oval office? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.

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COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS. The White House announced Wednesday that Gov. Brian Kemp is among a bipartisan group of 10 state leaders that will serve on the Council of Governors.

Congress created the council in 2008 as part of the reauthorization of the National Defense Authorization Act. Former President Barack Obama formalized the council via a 2010 executive order. Its members work alongside federal officials to enhance collaboration with states on issues like the response to natural disasters and national defense.

In addition to Kemp, the other governors are:

• Josh Stein of North Carolina, co-chair of the council
• Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, co-chair of the council
• Ron DeSantis of Florida
• Kathy Hochul of New York
• Jeff Landry of Louisiana
• Henry McMaster of South Carolina
• Wes Moore of Maryland
• Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania
• Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan

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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

• President Donald Trump will host a Black History Month reception at the White House and speak at the Republican Governors Association meeting in Washington.
• The Senate will vote on whether to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director. Then, it will begin an hourslong series of votes on amendments to a Republican-led effort to boost border security funding.
• The House is out for the week.
• U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, and other local leaders will hold a news conference in Stonecrest to highlight their criticism of a Republican-led effort to reduce federal spending that includes cuts to Medicaid.

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Savannah Chrisley wants President Donald Trump to pardon her parents.

CPAC IS BACK. The Conservative Political Action Conference begins today, and a few Georgia folks are on the agenda.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, a former Georgia congressman, will speak Friday afternoon. He was given a 15-minute slot sandwiched between conservative host Megyn Kelly and Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr will speak on a panel Saturday morning titled, “Changing Laws and Changing Lives: Stopping Human Trafficking.”

But arguably the biggest Georgia name we spotted on the list is former reality TV star Savannah Chrisley, who will speak Saturday on a panel called “Blessed are the Prosecuted: Fixing Justice.”