As President Joe Biden walked down the center aisle of the House chamber ahead of Thursday’s State of the Union address, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and other Republicans tried to hand him buttons bearing the name of Laken Riley. The nursing student killed in Athens last month has become the example for conservatives of what they perceive as Biden’s failure to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
It is unclear if Biden accepted one of Greene’s buttons or already had one stashed away. But when Greene began to heckle the president during the portion of his State of the Union address focused on immigration, he held up the button and indicated he agreed with Greene on the facts of the case.
She was “an innocent woman who was killed by an illegal, that’s right,” the president said of Riley.
The man charged with murder in Riley’s death, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, is a Venezuelan migrant who authorities say entered the country illegally in 2022. In October 2023, Ibarra and his brother Diego Jose Ibarra were issued citations after being accused of shoplifting in Athens-Clarke County.
The exchange between Biden and Greene was brief — only a few seconds of cross-talk. Biden then pivoted back to his prepared remarks. But it instantly became one of the most viral and polarizing moments of a speech where the president otherwise stuck to his prepared script.
Some progressive Democrats were dismayed that Biden used the term “an illegal” to describe Ibarra. And Republicans ripped Biden for mispronouncing Riley’s first name as “Lincoln.”
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Greene, R-Rome, and other House Republicans made Riley’s death a main talking point leading up to Biden’s primetime speech.
Earlier in the day, Republicans and 37 Democrats signed off on a bill named after Riley that would require federal immigration agents to lock up people in the country illegally who have been accused of theft or shoplifting.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, the Jackson Republican whose district includes Athens and the bill’s primary sponsor, said he got permission from Riley’s parents before introducing the legislation that bears her name.
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SOTU DECORUM. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s shouting match with President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address wasn’t a surprise to many political observers. Greene had told reporters that she didn’t feel obligated to heed calls for decorum from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and she had similar viral moments in previous years.
During Biden’s State of the Union in 2022, Greene and fellow conservative Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado interrupted the president several times. Greene shouted “liar” at him last year.
While many Republicans applauded Greene this year for ensuring Riley’s name was spoken during the speech, not every GOP lawmaker was pleased. As she shouted at Biden, U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, turned around in his seat and looked like he was shushing her.
“It’s beginning to sound more and more like the House of Commons in London,” Romney later told a journalist from Politico.
Or as one pained tipster told your Insiders, Washington needs to “make decorum great again.”
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REMEMBERING JOHN LEWIS. The one portion of the State of the Union speech that drew bipartisan applause, and even got House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to his feet, was the passage dedicated to the late Georgia U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta.
It came as a part of President Joe Biden’s decision to heed the Congressional Black Caucus’ call to acknowledge that the State of the Union fell on the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
That was the voting rights march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where Lewis and other activists were attacked by state troopers. Lewis went on to serve with Biden in Congress. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2020.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“Our late friend and former colleague John Lewis was at the march,” Biden said. “We miss him.”
The president went on to say that voting rights are still under attack today and called on Congress to pass legislation that would create federal election standards.
“John Lewis was a great friend to many of us here,” he said. “But if you truly want to honor him and all the heroes who marched with him, then it’s time for more than just talk. Pass and send me the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.”
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
TRIP OF A LIFETIME. Ronald Washington Jr. had a whirlwind day of activity as U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams’ guest at the State of the Union. His visit included a tour of the Capitol and a seat inside the gallery during President Joe Biden’s speech.
He was there to highlight Biden’s work to address student loan debt. Washington, a social studies teacher at Hank Aaron New Beginnings Academy in Atlanta, had about $200,000 wiped clean under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
“This whole experience has been a blessing,” he said after the speech. “It has been fantastic right from the moment that I woke up at 3 o’clock this morning to get to a plane in Atlanta until now.”
We took the opportunity to ask Washington, one of the few non-elected officials around, what he thought about Biden’s speech. He gave the president rave reviews.
“I was extremely impressed with how he came out,” Washington said. “I saw the energy, the folksiness, the edge. He looked strong. He looked young. He showed fire. And that was what I wanted to see.”
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GEORGIA BOUND. President Joe Biden is making Georgia one of his first stops on a campaign swing after Thursday’s State of the Union address.
The president will be in the Atlanta area tomorrow for a get-out-the-vote event ahead of next Tuesday’s presidential primary here. But he won’t have the state to himself. Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to be in Rome for a campaign rally Saturday as well.
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SPLIT SCREEN. It wasn’t all partisan brawling Thursday. In the Georgia state House chamber, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens got a warm welcome from House Speaker Jon Burns, who called Dickens “a very special guest and a friend to many of us in this House.”
Burns gave Dickens high marks for his efforts to push forward the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, while Dickens said he’d gotten support from state agencies to reduce Atlanta’s crime rates and make Atlanta a safer and more livable city.
“I know that’s a common goal for all us us,” Dickens said.
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TIKTOKERS FLOOD LINES. When some TikTok users opened the app Thursday, a pop up screen encouraged them to press a button to automatically be connected with a member of Congress’ office.
The request came as the House Energy and Commerce Committee considered a bill that could force TikTok’s China-affiliated parent company, ByteDance, to sell off the app or see it blocked entirely in the United States.
“Tell them to stop a TikTok shut down,” the message said. “Call now.”
And call they did. A staffer for one Georgia lawmaker on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, estimated his office would receive more than 1,000 such calls. Other legislators reported their phone lines were also flooded and said some of the callers were particularly aggressive.
The campaign seemed to only embolden the committee lawmakers, who voted unanimously to advance House Resolution 7521. The legislation bans smartphone applications that are owned by companies deemed foreign adversaries to the U.S.
Proponents of the legislation say it’s needed to crack down on TikTok because ByteDance has ties to the Chinese Communist Party. But the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups say the measure infringes on First Amendment Rights.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said the bill would come to the floor for a vote next week.
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RIVIAN RENEGES. In the final hours of the 2023 state legislative session, Gov. Brian Kemp issued a stern warning to Senate Republicans: If they didn’t extend a lucrative tax break for mega-projects, he’d haul them back to Atlanta for a special session.
At the time, it was clear that a main beneficiary would be Rivian, the electric vehicle manufacturer which a year earlier unveiled plans to build a $5 billion EV factory in northeast Georgia.
State and local officials had devoted an eye-popping $1.5 billion in tax incentives and rebates to land the factory, and Senate conservatives were reluctant to help sweeten the pot. But Kemp’s warning worked, and the extension became law.
The standoff over the legislation was top of mind for many lawmakers as news spread Thursday that Rivian was indefinitely delaying the completion of the mammoth project.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
We heard from many officials who feel betrayed by the company — and worry that all Georgia has to show for the project is a muddy, partly-graded 2,000 acre site. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones was among the most critical.
“It is disappointing news to hear Rivian is wavering on its commitments to the local community and the entire state of Georgia,” he said. “Nonetheless, we now have a great megasite available to offer a willing, interested and trusted future partner.”
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Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
UNDER THE GOLD DOME, Legislative Day 32:
- 7 a.m.: Committee meetings begin.
- 9 a.m.: The Senate convenes.
- 10 a.m.: The House gavels in.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
WORTH WATCHING. With just eight working days left in this legislative session, lawmakers are racing to get their biggest bills done. The House passed the state’s annual budget Thursday by a vote of 172-1, the AJC’s James Salzer reports.
The $36.1 billion plan includes pay raises for teachers and other state workers, along with more funding for law enforcement, education and mental health programs. The budget now goes to the Senate for final approval.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
LISTEN UP. The Associated Press’s Meg Kinnard and GOP strategist Eric Tanenblatt joined the “Politically Georgia” radio show Thursday to discuss Nikki Haley’s decision to suspend her Republican presidential campaign. Later, the AJC’s Tamar Hallerman brought us up to speed on the election interference trial against former President Donald Trump and his allies.
Find Thursday’s episodes and other previous editions of “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Today, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, calls into the show to give his review of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
Listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 FM, at AJC.com and at WABE.org.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden delivers remarks from a campaign event in Philadelphia following up on his State of the Union address.
- The Senate takes procedural votes on the government spending “minibus” and could pass the legislation if a deal can be struck among members.
- The House votes on legislation proponents say would help small businesses gain access to capital.
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RNC GUARD CHANGE. Today is Ronna McDaniel’s last as chair of the Republican National Committee. She announced the move last month and makes way for loyalists of presumptive GOP presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump.
Trump has indicated his preference for North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley to assume the RNC’s top leadership post. According to the Associated Press, Whatley is a veteran political operative and a purported watchdog for election integrity.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. Despite evidence to the contrary at Thursday’s State of the Union address, we can all get along.
Here with proof are Lucy and Laika Smith, the cat-and-dog duo who call Politically Georgia devotee Terri Smith of Sharpsburg their person. A reliable source reports the odd couple’s harmony comes not only from evenings by the fire but also from Lucy never stealing Laika’s treats.
In other words, treat your friends like dogs, and you’ll get along fine.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and location, and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC.
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AS ALWAYS, Politically Georgia readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.
