Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Georgia’s Democratic party takes a step toward a full-time chair.
- It’s decision day for U.S. Rep. David Scott.
- U.S. Rep.-elect Brian Jack gets a shoutout from Trump world.
President-elect Donald Trump reopened an exhausting debate, especially in Georgia, when he announced that he wanted to end the “inconvenient” twice-yearly ritual of changing the clocks.
Ending the clock change will require Congressional approval, which has repeatedly failed despite bipartisan support. The closest it got was in 2022, when the Senate unanimously approved a bill to make daylight saving time permanent before it failed in the House.
In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill in April 2021 for Georgia to switch to daylight saving time year-round only if Congress first approved a federal measure.
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
The bill’s supporters argue Georgians would be better off if they didn’t have to spring forward and fall back every year, a practice that they say contributes to sleep deprivation, health problems and traffic accidents.
Others prefer permanent standard time, which now includes four winter months. They said standard time provides more light in the morning for schoolchildren and farmers, and that it would increase productivity.
That bill was adopted at the urging of then-state Rep. Wes Cantrell, now an associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Woodstock. He ruminated last week on the “four years of crazy legislative maneuvering” that led to its passage.
Cantrell advocates for permanent daylight savings time, but also acknowledges there are plenty who want to stick with permanent standard time. Either way, he said, momentum is growing toward closing the curtains on time changes.
“Whatever path is chosen, the ultimate goal should be to end the biannual disruption and establish a consistent time system that prioritizes health, safety and societal well-being,” he said.
***
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
GOOD MORNING! Georgia’s legislative session starts in 28 days. Here are three things to know for today:
- Bill White, known locally for his push to split Atlanta into two cities, has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump as U.S. ambassador to Belgium, Greg Bluestein reports.
- More than 300,000 Georgia students are likely eligible for a new voucher program. That’s more than 15 times the number of students the state had budgeted for, the AJC’s Cassidy Alexander and Martha Dalton report.
- Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat has agreed to pay $43,000 in penalties for violating campaign finance laws, the AJC’s David Wickert reports.
***
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
PARTY DRAMA. Senior leaders of the Democratic Party of Georgia voted over the weekend to clear a path for U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams of Atlanta to step down as party chair amid an internal rift over the group’s direction.
The party’s State Committee voted on Saturday to require a bylaws panel to write new rules that would make the party chair’s job a paid, full-time position.
Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is helping to orchestrate the push to oust Williams amid concerns that she can’t carry out that role while simultaneously representing an Atlanta-based U.S. House district.
While that internal fight has ruffled feathers within the party, some former Williams allies have also urged her to resign — and key activists say they hope the bylaws change smooths a path for her to step down.
We’re told that Ossoff was among the elected officials who joined the Zoom call and urged for a speedy resolution to the intraparty fissures.
***
FINAL ACTION. The New York Times asked a few influential activists, lawmakers and scholars about what President Joe Biden can do in the final days of his term to keep his promises to voters.
One answer in particular stuck out to us: Martin Luther King III, the son of the Atlanta-based civil rights icon, urged the Democrat to commute the sentences of the 40 federal inmates on death row.
By commuting all federal death sentences to life, Mr. Biden would move America, meaningfully, in the direction of racial reconciliation and equal justice. In 2021 he became the first president to openly oppose capital punishment. Since his inauguration, the federal government has not carried out a single execution. …
My father taught that the death penalty multiplies hate, violence and vengeance. Commuting federal death sentences would be a decisive shift toward love, peace and mercy.
***
DAVID SCOTT’S DAY. A powerful committee of U.S. House Democrats will make a crucial decision today about whether Congressman David Scott will continue his role as the party’s top-ranking member on the Committee on Agriculture.
The lawmakers we’ve spoken to, including allies of Scott, say the writing on the wall isn’t good for him. Not only is it unlikely that the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee will recommend Scott keep his post, we hear he might not even get the 14 votes he needs to remain on the ballot to stay under consideration by the full Democratic conference.
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
The committee has roughly 65 members. They’ll be voting in a three-way race that also includes Reps. Jim Costa of California, who has the most seniority after Scott, and Angie Craig of Minnesota, who is making the argument that a junior member can provide fresh vigor.
Scott, an Atlanta Democrat, made calls to colleagues hoping to build up support. But the 79-year-old also skipped out on a series of candidate forums where he would have had to respond directly to lawmakers’ concerns about his age and health challenges.
Of course, AJC readers are probably not surprised that Scott decided not to share a stage with his opponents. He hasn’t participated in election season debates and candidate forums for years, although it hasn’t hurt him at the ballot box back home.
***
90/10. Georgia’s Medicaid program is expensive. But the state doesn’t have to pay for it alone. The federal government covers about 65% of the costs, while the state picks up the remaining 35%.
But if Georgia were to expand its Medicaid program to cover more adults, the federal government would cover 90% of those costs.
That 90/10 split has been one of the biggest arguments for Democrats in trying to convince the state’s Republican leaders to expand the program. Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock tried to include a $2 billion infusion in the budget a few years ago to further sweeten the pot.
But the new Republican Congress that comes in next year could scale back that federal spending, requiring states to pay more if they want to expand coverage.
“That is certainly at risk,” Caylee Noggle, chair of the Comprehensive Health Coverage Commission, told lawmakers during a gathering in Athens last week. “There’s a lot of conversation about that changing and coming way back down.”
Losing the 90/10 split would drastically alter the debate about expanding Medicaid in Georgia. But Noggle said she doesn’t think that would happen without a fight. Consider: 21 states that voted for Trump have expanded their Medicaid programs. Losing that 90/10 split would have tremendous impacts on their budgets.
“There are too many states that supported President-elect Trump that have also expanded Medicaid for there not to be a healthy debate around this,” she said.
***
Credit: Adam Beam/AJC
Credit: Adam Beam/AJC
30-30. A rule of thumb in Georgia politics is that for Democrats to win statewide, two things must happen: roughly 30% of white people must vote for them and roughly 30% of the electorate must be Black voters.
But what’s the rule for Republicans? Legendary University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock says their formula begins and ends with white evangelicals.
Take a look at these three recent, top of the ticket races.
2021 U.S. Senate runoff:
- White evangelicals: 34% of the vote, 86% vote for David Perdue for U.S. Senate.
- Black voters: 29% of the vote.
- White voters: 29% for Democrat Raphael Warnock.
- Result: Warnock wins.
2022 governor’s race:
- White evangelicals: 33% of the vote, 91% vote to reelect Republican Brian Kemp as governor.
- Black voters: 28% of the vote.
- White voters: 25% for Democrat Stacey Abrams.
- Result: Kemp wins.
2024 presidential election:
- White evangelicals: 31% of the vote, 91% vote for Republican Donald Trump.
- Black voters: 29% of the vote.
- White voters: 28% for Democrat Kamala Harris.
- Result: Trump wins.
“Two core constituencies, roughly evenly matched,” Bullock told lawmakers during a gathering in Athens last week.
Georgia’s statewide results are still close. It’s why you’ll likely see another onslaught of presidential visits and TV ads in four years. But overall, Bullock said Georgia is “more of a red state than a blue state.”
***
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” Caylee Noggle, president and CEO of the Georgia Hospital Association, joins the show to talk about Medicaid and health care. Then, congressional journalist Michael Jones discusses U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta, and government funding.
Be sure to download the AJC’s Politically Georgia podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.
On Friday’s show, Andy Miller with KFF Health News talked about the angst surrounding insurance companies and the larger conversation happening after the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
***
Credit: Susan Walsh/AP
Credit: Susan Walsh/AP
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will highlight his workforce agenda during an event at the Department of Labor. In the evening, he will host a Hanukkah Holiday Reception with first lady Jill Biden.
- The U.S. House returns for evening votes.
- The Senate will begin consideration of the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act, but no votes have been scheduled yet.
***
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
FRESH FACES. A record number of incoming freshmen U.S. House members have been appointed to the four most prestigious committees, and Georgia U.S. Rep.-elect Brian Jack is getting a lot of the credit.
Axios crunched the numbers and found that eight of the 30 incoming Republican lawmakers have been assigned to the Appropriations, Energy and Commerce or Financial Services committees. The only “A level” committee with no freshman is Ways and Means, which has jurisdiction over taxes.
Jack is a member of the Republican panel that decides which committees members will serve on. Axios said 27% of freshman GOP members made it onto these coveted committees, the highest share since 1999. That earned Jack, R-Peachtree City, kudos from Chris LaCivita, who was a campaign manager to President-elect Donald Trump.
“Way to go @BrianTJack!!,” LaCivita wrote on X, adding that the lawmaker was “one to watch.”
Jack in a statement to the AJC said he is just doing his job as a member of the Republican Steering Committee.
“Our freshman class elected me to represent them on the Steering Committee, and I am proud of the history we made on Friday by appointing a record number of freshmen to the most coveted committees,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to advocate for my freshman class to earn key opportunities to advance President Trump’s agenda.”
***
SHOUTOUTS. Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that! Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
***
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.
