U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene withdrew her support for a defense appropriations bill Thursday and helped stall efforts by her supposed friend and ally, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, to pass federal spending legislation.
Greene had voted in favor of the very same measure on Tuesday. The Rome Republican didn’t stick around to talk to the news media after a procedural vote on the defense funding bill but released a statement on social media saying she flipped because she now wants the measure stripped of any funding for Ukraine.
“Our nation is being invaded at our southern border,” she wrote. “I’m not voting for the rule or the bill because it funds the war in Ukraine, while we’re not defending our own country.”
Every single member of the U.S. military AND every member of Congress swears an oath to the United States of America.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) September 21, 2023
Our nation is being invaded at our Southern border.
I’m not voting for the rule or the bill because it funds the war in Ukraine, while we’re not defending our…
U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican and former Navy SEAL, said Greene’s reversal took lawmakers by surprise. Her position, he said, represents a misunderstanding of U.S. involvement in Ukraine.
“It’s not about Ukraine. It’s about defending a world where countries don’t invade one another and screw up our American way of life as a result,” he said.
McCarthy, R-Calif., adjourned the House for the week following the failure to advance the defense appropriations bill. The stalemate casts further doubt on the GOP’s ability to pass a plan to fund the government beyond a Sept. 30 shutdown deadline. Republicans have yet to open negotiations with Democrats but haven’t found a plan that can pass with GOP votes alone.
Credit: Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Credit: Kenny Holston/The New York Times
McCarthy’s latest strategy is to pass the 12 appropriations bills one by one. But with the typically well-supported Pentagon spending legislation failing twice this week, that blueprint seems doomed.
The House Rules Committee is meeting today and could make four more spending bills eligible for floor votes. The rest of the House was sent home for the weekend, although lawmakers were told they could be called back at any time for votes.
Even if these bills manage to win majority support in the House, they represent steep cuts in spending and conservative policies that are unlikely to win support in the Democratic-led Senate.
Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Thursday took the first steps toward introducing a continuing resolution to temporarily fund the federal government while long-term spending plans are ironed out.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
BIG ENDORSEMENTS: U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is the rare high-profile Georgia Democrat to back the need for public safety training facilities in Atlanta, though he said the details should be left up to city officials.
According to a report by The Jolt’s Greg Bluestein, Ossoff was the only of four prominent Democrats surveyed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to endorse the need for a new facility, though he stopped short of supporting the specific project that Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has championed.
“Senator Ossoff fully supports new, world-class training facilities for Atlanta law enforcement and first responders,” said a spokesman for the first-term Democrat, who is up for reelection in 2026. “Where those facilities are located is a decision for Atlanta.”
The other three Democrats asked for comment were U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, and Stacey Abrams, the party’s gubernatorial nominee the last two elections.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
The public safety training center received an endorsement from across the political aisle. Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler said she was “incredibly supportive of it.”
“I’m very supportive of the work to try and build this and improve the workforce, the quality of the workforce, and the opportunities for people to join these vital professions.”
Loeffler is the latest high-profile Republican to speak out for the facility. Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr are among the GOP officials who have long supported the construction of the $90 million project.
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Credit: File photos
Credit: File photos
KEEP UP. The legal maneuvers in the Fulton County election interference case against former President Donald Trump and 18 others continued this week.
With all the moving parts, we’ll update you periodically with the latest developments. You can stay on top of the case via the “Trump Georgia Indictment” section on AJC.com and by signing up for the “The Trump 19″ weekly newsletter at ajc.com/newsletters.
Our AJC colleagues filed these stories this week:
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
STRIKE TALK. Georgia is an emerging state for automobile manufacturing, with the Kia plant in West Point turning out 340,000 vehicles a year and two electric vehicle factories currently under construction in other parts of the state.
Those facilities aren’t union shops though, unlike the plants in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio at a standstill after United Auto Workers walked out on their jobs to demand higher wages and better working conditions.
Asked about the labor protest earlier this week, Gov. Brian Kemp touted Georgia’s standing as a right-to-work state.
“People are fleeing their states because they just want to go where there’s a free market and good hard work,” Kemp told a Politico reporter.
Kemp’s comments come as a coalition of union groups is engaged in a pressure campaign targeting Hyundai Motor Group. Hyundai operates the Kia plant and is building a $7.6 billion EV plant near Savannah.
The coalition wants Hyundai to enact community benefits agreements, which outline employee compensation and other working conditions practices and are enforceable through binding arbitration, similar to a traditional union contract.
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MEGASITE MOMENT. The state of Georgia’s two-decades long mission to fill a 1,900-acre megasite at the junction of Interstate 95 and I-16 near Savannah ended this week with the grand opening of an Amazon fulfillment center.
The Georgia Ports Authority bought the acreage in 2002 to attract a Sprinter van manufacturing plant. That deal fell through, and subsequent pitches failed to attract other automakers.
The state and the local development authority later elected to divide what became known as the Pooler megasite and landed the first tenant, Mitsubishi Power Systems, in 2009. Amazon and paper recycler Celadon claimed the remaining parcels in 2021.
The Amazon deal marked a monumental moment in Savannah’s economic development history because it set in motion a series of events that led to Hyundai Motor Group choosing the area for its electric vehicle factory. Amazon purchased rather than leased its property on the Pooler megasite, and the state used the $60 million in sales proceeds to purchase land adjacent to a tract in Ellabell, located 15 miles to the west.
The Hyundai Metaplant, the largest economic development project in Georgia history, is currently under construction on the 3,000-acre site and is expected to open in late 2024.
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Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
SENATE CASUAL. Georgia U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff are known as dapper dressers, and inquiring minds want to know if the recent relaxation of the U.S. Senate dress code will result in any wardrobe adjustments.
Both Democratic senators declined to address whether we’ll soon see them conducting business tie-less or in chinos on C-SPAN.
A spokeswoman for Ossoff said in an email: “We don’t have anything for you on this at the moment. ” Meanwhile, a staffer for Warnock wrote: “Senator Warnock is focused on keeping the government open and funded because that’s what he’s hearing about most from Georgians.”
The senators’ reluctance to comment is likely due to the uproar that’s followed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s blessing of more casual dress. Republicans seized on the decision to accuse Democrats of wasting time on a dress code with a government shutdown looming.
On Wednesday, 46 GOP members signed a letter to Schumer, D-N.Y., calling for him to reverse the change, citing decorum.
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Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times
Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver remarks at the White House marking the creation of the first-ever federal Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
- The House and Senate are done for the week and scheduled to return Tuesday, although House members were told they could be called back for unplanned votes before then.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for The AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for The AJC
TIME TO PARTY. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff held a reception on Capitol Hill on Thursday to welcome Georgians in town for the Congressional Black Caucus’ Annual Legislative Conference.
In addition to Ossoff, Sen. Raphael Warnock and U.S. Reps. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, and Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, were in attendance. So was Calvin Smyre, the former dean of the Georgia House, fresh off his stint serving as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly.
.@SenOssoff hosts a reception at the Capitol for Georgians in town for the CBC conference. Also in attendance: @SenatorWarnock, @SanfordBishop, @RepHankJohnson and “dean” Calvin Smyre fresh off his UNGA experience. pic.twitter.com/LlEH02CdLR
— Tia Mitchell, AJC’s Washington Correspondent (@ajconwashington) September 21, 2023
The conference’s panel discussions wrap up today, with Johnson hosting a session on expanding the Supreme Court. The event continues into the weekend, pivoting to a busy party scene.
Reps. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, and Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, will co-host what’s being called the unofficial Georgia party. It’s a sneaker ball tonight titled “The South Got Something to Say,” and there are rumors of a celebrity guest.
On Saturday, Howard Franklin’s Ohio River South lobbying firm is hosting a brunch for the second year in a row. Last year’s event was Atlanta-focused and in support of the city’s ultimately unsuccessful effort to land the Democratic National Convention. This year, the event is celebrating southern cities more generally.
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Credit: J. Scott Trubey/AJC
Credit: J. Scott Trubey/AJC
ON THE ROAD: Gov. Brian Kemp is back on the road this week, freer to travel beyond Georgia’s borders with a reelection victory behind him.
He was in New York on Wednesday to accept an award from the Korea Society on behalf of the state’s marketing arm. He’s in Austin today to participate in the Texas Tribune Festival’s annual political conference along with Jolter Greg Bluestein.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. If only we could all have a friend like Georgia or Tomato Hutton, the two lab-mix best pals who call Democratic strategist Nuala Hutton their person.
Hutton was en route to adopt Georgia when she got word that Joe Biden had won the state in the 2020 presidential election. With such fortuitous news, it seems Georgia could as easily have been named “Uncle Joe” or “Bluey.” Instead, the name of the state of victory stuck.
Georgia now loves to play in the Chattahoochee, chase balls, and cuddle up with Tomato. All three live in Sandy Springs.
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.
