Gov. Brian Kemp’s top aide said Thursday he is stepping down at the end of the month, a move that comes as the Republican grapples with the coronavirus pandemic and a resulting economic slowdown that imperils his agenda.
Tim Fleming is set to join the newly-formed Georgia United Victory PAC, a free-spending outside group that promotes U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s campaign, ahead of her November special election against 20 challengers.
He will be succeeded by Caylee Noggle, who was the governor’s chief management officer, on an interim basis. In her new role, she’s charged with supervising the governor’s senior deputies, marshaling his priorities through the Legislature and navigating crises. She’s the first woman in state history to serve in the job, Kemp said.
The switch comes at a time when Kemp faces mounting challenges over his coronavirus response, threats to his political clout and a likely rematch against Democrat Stacey Abrams in 2022.
“Tim has served my administrations for more than a decade,” Kemp said in a statement. “I am grateful for his service and hard work, and I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
A longtime Kemp aide, Fleming cut a low profile since he assumed the role in January 2019 when Kemp was sworn into office. An exception came in March when he seemed to undercut the governor’s coronavirus messaging by complaining that the threat from the disease was being overstated.
Fleming comes from a family accustomed to the political glare. His grandfather was a Pierce County Commission chairman, his father was a Newton County commissioner and Fleming won a narrow 2008 vote to serve one term on the Newton County commission.
Credit: AJC file photo
Credit: AJC file photo
He first met Kemp while a sophomore at the University of Georgia in 2002 while volunteering for his upstart state Senate campaign. Two years later, he worked for Kemp’s re-election campaign and interned for him at the statehouse.
After Fleming graduated in 2005, he ran Kemp’s unsuccessful statewide campaign for agriculture commissioner. He later served as Kemp’s campaign chief for his 2010 bid for a full term as secretary of state, and worked several roles in the office after the Republican’s victory.
As Kemp’s campaign manager in 2018, he honed a reputation as an efficient multi-tasker who oversaw an underdog bid for governor on a shoestring budget that morphed into a $22 million operation. Kemp made Fleming his first hire two days after the election – even as ballots were still being tallied.
Since Kemp took office, Fleming has been a constant, if sometimes unassuming, presence. He’s rarely been quoted in the press, though his March Facebook post critical of “doomsday models and projections” of the coronavirus drew headlines because it conflicted with public health experts who warned the outbreak would worsen.
In a statement Thursday, Fleming called the job the “honor of a lifetime” and said he looked forward to a “new and exciting journey in the private sector.”
He will soon join the pro-Loeffler PAC – an acronym for GUV – to help the Kemp appointee’s bid against U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, a four-term Republican congressman who casts himself as the authentic conservative in the free-for-all special election.
The governor’s advisers say Fleming is also likely to play a prominent role in Kemp’s bid for a second term early next year, a reflection of how the Republican is already preparing for another challenge by Abrams.
In the short term, Noggle will take over his duties. A former president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission, Noggle was tapped as the chief management officer for Kemp’s office earlier this year. She was also assigned in May to serve as Dr. Kathleen Toomey’s chief of staff at the Department of Public Health to help run the burgeoning state agency.
Fleming’s departure leaves a long-term opening for the job, one of the most influential and demanding roles under the Gold Dome. It’s not unusual for governors to burn through several top aides in their first term, though Gov. Nathan Deal had one chief of staff – Chris Riley – for all eight years he was in office.
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