Gov. Brian Kemp has a message for the GOP hard-liners, including U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who refuse to pass legislation to fund the federal government unless the measures also address demands on immigration, Ukraine funding, and more.
“Just pass the damn bill and try to get something,” Kemp said during a lengthy conversation with The Jolt’s Greg Bluestein at the Texas Tribune Festival on Friday. The governor hammered far-right Republicans for making individual demands of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., without presenting a comprehensive plan to rein in overall spending.
“If you’re really hellbent on working on spending and controlling spending, where are their proposals for dealing with that?” Kemp said. “None of them have enough guts to come out and say anything about that, because they know they’ll get lit up by the other side — or the front-runner in the presidential race.”
The governor’s remarks Friday did not move Greene or others to change course. Instead, the Rome congresswoman held an “emergency town hall meeting” in Plainville on Friday night to lay out her reasons for blocking McCarthy’s plans. At one point, she held her microphone to her cellphone for a call from former President Donald Trump. “When you’re there for Marjorie, you’re there for me, too,” he said.
On Sunday, Greene announced she’ll also vote against the revised spending package that passed out of the Rules Committee over the weekend, which included $300 million of military support for Ukraine.
“No one who wants peace should vote yes on the rule to advance the bills. That’s why I’m a HARD NO on the rules package and a blank check for Ukraine!” she wrote.
Such opposition puts McCarthy in a jam again, since he can only afford to lose a handful of GOP votes and Democrats have made it clear they won’t help to slash funding levels or pass new conservative riders.
Kemp said Greene and others need to focus on the bigger picture, too.
“Why not have some sort of spending bill that would help secure the border even though you’re not getting everything you want? Take the win and show people you know how to govern,” Kemp said.
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NEXT STEPS. The House returns to vote on the new spending package Tuesday. That’s also when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has scheduled a procedural vote on what could become stopgap funding legislation. For that to move quickly, Schumer will need bipartisan support.
Once Congress returns, there will be five days until government funding runs out.
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Credit: Curtis Compton/AJC
Credit: Curtis Compton/AJC
CARTERS’ CAMEO. The Plains Peanut Festival is meant to celebrate both the town’s signature farm crop and its most famous residents, former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn.
So naturally, the Carters attended the 2023 event to show their gratitude. The couple made a surprise appearance at the festival Saturday, riding in the parade, writes our AJC colleague Ernie Suggs.
The ride-and-wave is believed to be the Carters’ only public appearance since the former president entered hospice care earlier this year. Jimmy Carter’s 99th birthday is Sunday.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
DEBATABLE. The next GOP presidential debate is scheduled for Wednesday night at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
Organizers have upped the criteria for candidates to qualify for the debate stage, including moving the donation threshold from 40,000 to 50,000 unique donors for candidates to be included.
Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan is making the pitch for former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to make the cutoff.
“Any American who wants to see Donald Trump get prosecuted in the court of public opinion should want @govchristie to stay on the debate stage,” Duncan wrote on social media with a link to donate to Christie.
But the one place Trump won’t get interrogated is in Simi Valley by Christie, since Trump said he’ll skip the second presidential debate just as he did the first.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
UNDER FURTHER REVIEW. Six hours of video footage show the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol were not a “normal tourist visit,” writes AJC contributor Jamie Dupree in a recent opinion column.
He is among the Capitol Hill journalists to review the security tapes, at times viewing footage from as many as 16 different cameras on one screen. He refuted statements by lawmakers who have downplayed the storming of the building, such as the “tourist visit” claimant, Georgia U.S. House Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens.
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VIOLENCE PREVENTION. U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath was the guest speaker at the White House press briefing on Friday ahead of the official ceremony to create the new federal Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
McBath, who lost her teenage son in a racially motivated shooting in 2012, recounted the pain of not seeing him grow into adulthood. She said the White House is working to prevent more stories like hers.
“Nobody wants to experience what I have,” the Marietta Democrat said in her remarks. “But my story is becoming far too common in the United States of America.”
In introducing McBath, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she considers the congresswoman a personal hero and said she traveled to Georgia to campaign for McBath when she first ran for Congress in 2018.
After the briefing, McBath attended the event in the Rose Garden to hear remarks by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who will oversee the new office.
State Rep. Michelle Au, D-Johns Creek, was also at the White House for the announcement. She has pushed for gun control measures, particularly after the Atlanta spa shootings. Au has been mentioned as a possible congressional candidate if a pending court ruling forces lawmakers to redraw the boundaries that include Au’s Gwinnett-based state House district.
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Credit: Nicole Buchanan/The New York Times
Credit: Nicole Buchanan/The New York Times
SWING DECISIONS? The Democrats’ path to gaining majority control of the U.S. House in 2024 is likely getting easier due to recent and future court decisions.
State and federal judges are hearing challenges to congressional district maps redrawn following the release of the 2020 U.S. Census. According to a Politico analysis, “a dozen or more seats across at least six states could be redrawn, increasing the likelihood Democrats could chip away the five-seat GOP House majority through redistricting alone.”
Earlier this month, maps in Florida and Alabama were rejected. Here in Georgia, a trial scrutinizing the new districts ended earlier this month and a ruling is expected soon. The Georgia General Assembly is accused of gerrymandering metro Atlanta districts after the 6th District flipped from Democratic control to Republican in the 2022 election, giving the GOP control of nine of 14 districts in the state.
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Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will meet at the White House with Pacific Islands Forum leaders and with his Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
- The U.S. Senate and House are out today in observance of Yom Kippur. Lawmakers return on Tuesday.
- Stacey Abrams is moderating a panel discussion at Howard University with female members of the U.S. House about increasing the number of women in Congress. She is a newly installed member of the Howard faculty.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
TELL ALL. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s new book, “MTG,” publishes in November.
In promoting the book, the Rome Republicans promised it will include “all the news that the media never reported, and the stories I never told, until now.”
Her book website says it will recount Greene’s journey from the private sector to public office, her views on political topics of the day and the “personal sacrifices that come with being ‘the most dangerous woman in Washington.’” The cover art depicts the congresswoman in silhouette standing in front of an American flag.
The book comes from Winning Team Publishing, a company co-founded by Donald Trump Jr. and Sergio Gor, an ex-campaign aide to former President Donald Trump. The firm bills itself as “the nation’s premier conservative publishing house.”
Pre-sale orders for the $30 hardback are underway.
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END OF AN ERA. When you think of Georgians and longtime political service, the names Calvin Smyre and Richard Russell, Jr. quickly come to mind.
Cullen Talton, Jr. has held office longer than both of them.
The Houston County sheriff took office in 1972 and has held the post since. He’s 91 years old and in his 13th term — and it will be his last.
Talton recently told the Macon Telegraph he’ll retire rather than run again in 2024, citing his age. Talton told reporter Joe Kovac Jr.: “I’ve been here, if I make it the next year and three months, 52 years. And it’s time for somebody else to take the reins.”
Talton farmed cattle and raised crops prior to entering public service.
For the record, Smyre served 48 years in the Georgia House while Russell spent 38 years representing the state in the U.S. Senate after a partial term as governor.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. Being a librarian is no easy task these days. But the manager of the Auburn, Georgia, public library, Bel Outwater, gets plenty of help from these two — Duke Silver Outwater (left), an 11-year-old Labrador/shepherd mix, and Calliope Ursula Junebug Outwater, also known as CUJO, a one-year-old German shepherd mix.
Duke and CUJO call Bel and Jeremiah Outwater their people. Two of them are Jolt subscribers, while the other two may eat more books than they read. They all live in Barrow County.
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, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
