Warnock to vote against Kennedy after tense exchange over Nazi comments
Today’s newsletter highlights:
- The Georgia Senate is set to vote on its first bill this session.
- Two Democrats endorse a bill blocking some transgender procedures.
- Lawmakers try again to make cornbread an official state symbol.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Health and Human Services, denied comparing the CDC to “Nazi death camps” during a hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
But Georgia U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock had the receipts.
The Democrat read Kennedy’s words back to him from a transcript of his appearance at an autism conference in 2013. Back then, according to NBC News, Kennedy was asked about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s motives for not declaring an autism epidemic.
“To me, this is like Nazi death camps, what happened to these kids,” Kennedy said.
After hearing Warnock read his quote back to him, Kennedy said he was not comparing the CDC to the Nazis, but was instead “comparing the injury rate of our children to other atrocities.”
“And any statement that I made has been interpreted that way, I don’t agree with that,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy spent much of his time before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday answering questions about vaccines and how he would change Medicaid and Medicare. But Warnock was more interested in Kennedy’s thoughts on the CDC, the Atlanta-based public health agency that employs more than 10,000 people in Georgia.
Trump’s Cabinet picks have faced significant pushback in Washington. Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida withdrew from his nomination to be attorney general after he had been accused of sexual misconduct. But Pete Hegseth was narrowly approved as defense secretary last week despite also facing assault allegations.
Other nominees have had relatively smooth sailing. Former Georgia U.S. Rep. Doug Collins is poised to become the next Veterans Affairs secretary after a mostly drama-free confirmation hearing. And former Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler is one step closer to leading the Small Business Administration after her confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
Warnock announced he would vote against Kennedy following Wednesday’s hearing. His tense exchange with Kennedy earned him a threat of payback from Nicole Shanahan, the philanthropist who was Kennedy’s running mate during his campaign for president last year before he dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump.
“You’re awful,” she posted on social media, as she promised to finance a challenger.
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GOOD MORNING! We hope you enjoy both reading and listening to “Politically Georgia” from the AJC. Next week, you can meet us in person in Washington as we record a special live-to-tape episode.
Join Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and special guest U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Feb 6. Click here to register to attend.
Here are three things to know for today:
- President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law — and gave Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones a shoutout for supporting the bill.
- The University of Georgia announced $1.7 million in campus safety projects, nearly one year after Riley was killed on its campus, the AJC’s Jason Armesto reports.
- The White House, in part, reversed its directive to freeze federal spending. It’s unclear whether the plan is on hold permanently, according to reporting from the AJC’s Alia Pharr, Mirtha Donastorg, Sara Gregory and Cassidy Alexander.
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FIRST ACTION. The Georgia Senate is scheduled to vote on its first bill of the session today. But it will likely be too late to help Angie Stephens McCullough.
The co-owner of Newnan Bonding was elected to the Heard County Board of Commissioners in November. But before she could take office, McCullough learned of an obscure state law that forbids bail bond business owners from holding elected office — except as school board members.
Since Newnan Bonding was her primary source of income, McCullough opted not to take office. The county has called a special election to fill her seat later this year.
Senate Bill 16, scheduled for a vote this morning, would change that law to let people like McCullough hold elected office.
There’s still one exception: commissioners could not issue bail bonds within the county they represent. That’s because the commission controls the local sheriff’s department budget. State Sen. Matt Brass, the Newnan Republican who sponsored the legislation, said he didn’t want a scenario in which an elected official could use the budget as leverage to get the sheriff to steer business to their bail bond company.
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TRANSGENDER POLITICS. Two Democrats are co-sponsoring legislation that would block the state health insurance plan from covering some procedures for transgender employees seeking treatment for their transition.
State Sens. Ed Harbison of Columbus and Freddie Powell Sims of Dawson are supporting the measure, putting them at odds with many in their party who see the legislation as discriminatory.
It’s another sign of a split among Georgia Democrats over transgender rights, as some more moderate lawmakers break with the party over social issues.
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CLOSE CALL. Georgia lawmakers will debate a host of school safety measures this session. But there’s likely only one state lawmaker who can speak from experience.
State Sen. RaShaun Kemp, D-Atlanta, was the principal at a school in Ohio more than a decade ago when a student showed up with a gun.
The student made it inside the building, but quickly fled once school officials noticed the gun. Kemp said he chased the student outside, which in hindsight he admits probably wasn’t the safest idea.
“My thought was that I had hundreds of kids inside the building to keep safe,” he said. “Kind of like fight or flight.”
The police, not Kemp, eventually caught the student. But the incident made a deep impression on Kemp, who moved to Georgia and is now in his first term as a state senator.
“We shouldn’t have to, as educators, be put in that position,” Kemp said.
A fatal shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County last year left two students and two teachers dead. Four months later, another Apalachee High School student was charged with bringing a gun to school. The student was arrested and no one was injured.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has proposed an extra $50 million for school security grants this year. Democrats, meanwhile, have introduced a host of proposals that would make it a crime to leave guns accessible to children and would require universal background checks for firearm purchases.
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CORNBREAD DREAMS. Cornbread couldn’t pass the Georgia Legislature by itself last year. Now “potlikka” is trying to push it over the top.
State Rep. Kasey Carpenter’s bill to make cornbread the official Georgia state bread died in the Senate last year, but not for a lack of effort. Carpenter, whose family owns the Oakwood Cafe in Dalton, brought hundreds of pieces of cornbread to the House floor last year to help convince his colleagues to vote for it.
“I must have eaten half of them,” said state Rep. Angela Moore, D-Stonecrest.
Moore introduced her own bill this year that would make potlikka “the official Georgia state dipping sauce of the official Georgia state bread.”
For the uninitiated, “potlikka” – or “pot liquor” – is the juice left over from cooking greens, such as collards. You can even order it as a side item at some Georgia restaurants.
Moore said she was “devastated” last year when Carpenter filed his cornbread bill — but only because she didn’t think to do it first. She thought adding potlikka would be the next best thing. Her bill would also make collard greens the official greens of Georgia.
We should note that Carpenter and Moore’s bills don’t endorse a particular recipe of cornbread or potlikka. Carpenter said his restaurant uses “a tad bit of sugar” along with mayonnaise to keep it “soft and moist.”
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UNDER THE GOLD DOME. Many lawmakers likely won’t linger in the Capitol today so they can get to the Georgia Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual legislative luncheon. The sold-out event features Gov. Brian Kemp and first lady Marty Kemp, Emmy-winning actress Patricia Heaton, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Attorney General Chris Carr and Anat Sultan-Dadon, the consul general of Israel to the Southeastern United States.
Other happenings:
- 8 a.m.: House Natural Resources and Environment Committee will hear some presentations from several state agencies, including the Department of Natural Resources.
- 9:30 a.m.: House convenes.
- 10 a.m.: Senate convenes.
- 11 a.m.: Gov. Brian Kemp holds a news conference to reveal his proposal aiming to limit large jury awards in some civil cases.
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LISTEN UP. Today’s “Politically Georgia,” state Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, joins the program to discuss the major fight ahead over Georgia’s litigation rules.
Be sure to download the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us. You can also listen live at 10 a.m. EDT on 90.1 FM WABE.
On Wednesday’s show, Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz talked about President Donald Trump signing the Laken Riley Act. Then, University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock discussed Trump’s attempt to halt freeze some federal spending.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Donald Trump has not announced any public events but said in a news release last night he is monitoring the rescue and recovery efforts after a deadly plane crash at Reagan National Airport in Washington.
- The Senate will vote on the nomination of Doug Burgum as secretary of the Interior.
- Confirmation hearings are scheduled for Kash Patel, the nominee for FBI director; Tulsi Gabbard, nominee for the director of national intelligence; and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services.
- The Democratic Party will begin its winter meeting at a resort just outside of Washington. The conference culminates with elections Saturday, including for a new national chair. Georgia U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams of Atlanta and state Sen. Sheikh Rahman of Lawrenceville are among eight candidates for vice chair for civic engagement and voter participation.
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OSSOFF’S GAVEL. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is still recovering from an undisclosed illness, missing his third day of votes Wednesday. But he also received some good news.
Ossoff will serve as the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. In a news release announcing the post, Ossoff noted that Georgia is home to 13 military bases and facilities, which could benefit from his new role.
“From this key position, I will strengthen U.S. national security and fight for Georgia’s veterans, servicemembers, and their families,” the Atlanta Democrat said.
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SHOUTOUTS. Transition:
- Will Bradley is now the government relations and advocacy lead for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics’s Georgia operations. Bradley is an Atlanta native and University of Alabama grad who got his informal start in politics while in high school in 2017 when he organized for U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s first campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives.
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AS ALWAYS, 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.
