It’s not just Donald Trump. Georgia voters disapprove of Elon Musk, too

Elon Musk’s aggressive push to slash the federal bureaucracy as head of President Donald Trump‘s Department of Government Efficiency initiative is facing a backlash — and not just from Georgia Democrats.

A new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll shows 56% of Georgia voters disapprove of Musk’s prominent role in the Trump administration, including more than 60% of independents and about one in seven Republicans. Just 3% of Democrats approve of his involvement.

The poll also reveals a narrow majority of voters oppose DOGE’s mission to dismantle federal agencies and fire tens of thousands of federal workers. About 85% of Republicans support the initiative, underscoring the sharp partisan split.

Musk recently announced that he’s stepping back from his presidential assignment to lead DOGE amid mounting questions about his effectiveness and a brutal quarterly earnings report at Tesla, where Musk is CEO.

Democrats in Georgia, meanwhile, continue to make Musk a political target. They’ve seized on his leadership of DOGE to rally voters, giving the party a new symbol of opposition heading into 2026.

Things to know

Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

Good morning! Gov. Brian Kemp has 13 days left to either sign or veto bills passed by the state Legislature this year. He’s signed 20 bills into law so far and hasn’t vetoed anything yet. You can follow along with the AJC’s Legislative Navigator.

Here are three things to know for today:

Jump on in

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Republicans are already pummeling U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff with ads over his vote to block a measure to bar transgender girls from competing in women’s sports.

So it’s no surprise veteran GOP strategist Brian Robinson pressed him on it during a “Political Breakfast” podcast interview.

“Why is that a hill to die on when there’s so much at stake for you going into your reelection year?” Robinson asked on the WABE show, prompting a sharp response from the Georgia Democrat.

“It’s the GOP, Brian, that is obsessed and preoccupied with this issue. And I know that Republican political consultants, in particular, are very focused on this issue,” said Ossoff, who called it a “culture war wedge issue.”

The Democrat then framed the debate: Will voters base their 2026 decision on “whether or not federal bureaucrats are investigating the sexual biology of adolescent student athletes?”

His answer: “I don’t think so.”

Robinson also asked him whether there’s a Republican he preferred to face, noting Ossoff has thrown some “chum in the water” for U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right Republican from Rome.

“I am ready for any challenge, Brian,” said Ossoff. “The pool is open.”

Rematch

Credit: Courtesy photos

Credit: Courtesy photos

One of Georgia’s most competitive state House races is getting a sequel.

Farooq Mughal says he will try and reclaim his former House seat in northern Gwinnett County next year. Mughal lost to Republican Sandy Donatucci by a scant 80 votes in November, ending his one term under the Gold Dome.

Mughal’s defeat was a major coup for the GOP, limiting their losses and preserving a 100-seat majority in the state House of Representatives. The rematch figures to be a key indicator of how Atlanta’s suburbs are feeling about President Donald Trump.

In his first term, Mughal said he didn’t focus much on the federal government. But when we spoke to him on Wednesday, he mentioned three times how the Trump administration’s policies are impacting the district. He’s been traveling the district asking voters to “sit back and kind of imagine exactly where we are heading.”

“It’s not just the Democrats. I think Republicans really need to sit down and say, ‘is this what we wanted?” he said.

While Trump’s approval numbers are not great in Georgia, voters don’t seem keen to turn to Democrats just yet. The AJC’s most recent poll shows only 35% said they have a favorable impression of the party while 58% have an unfavorable impression.

Donatucci seems to be counting on that sentiment to hold again in 2026.

“Voters in my community rejected (Mughal’s) radical liberal record in 2024 and I have no doubt they will do so again in 2026,” she said.

Stonewalled

Credit: Evan Vucci/AP

Credit: Evan Vucci/AP

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is trying to find out more details about the Trump administration’s “collateral arrest” policy regarding immigration raids because he is concerned U.S. citizens could get caught up and deported.

But he’s not getting anywhere yet. Ossoff has repeatedly asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for detailed information about who the government has detained during immigration raids, most recently in a letter last week.

“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is obstructing and ignoring Senate oversight of its activities,” Ossoff wrote.

The renewed push comes as Ossoff is getting pressure from his progressive base, which wants to see him be more visible in resisting the Trump administration. During Ossoff’s most recent town hall on Friday, a man who identified himself as “a minority” said he was born in the U.S. but was afraid to leave his house without his passport because of the color of his skin.

Ossoff echoed that concern in his most recent letter to Noem.

“It appears to me that it is only a matter of time before a U.S. citizen caught up in a Trump administration immigration raid winds up removed to Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele’s notorious CECOT,” he wrote, referring to the prison the federal government is paying to hold some people deported from the United States.

Cowboy Harper

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper wears many hats as a statewide official, family farmer and occasional musician.

Last week, Harper also put on his cowboy hat when he went to the Professional Bull Riders Association event at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry.

But Harper didn’t just show up at the event, he zipped up his chaps and rode an actual bull — prophetically named “Widow Maker.”

Not only did the Ocilla Republican manage to hang on for several seconds and live to tell about it, $5 of every ticket sold to the event also went to support Georgia FFA, or Future Farmers of America, where he was once an active member.

Rest in peace

Credit: Bob Andres/AJC

Credit: Bob Andres/AJC

Former Georgia state Rep. Susan Holmes has died, WMAZ reports. She was 82.

Holmes, a Republican from Monticello, was first elected in 2010. Her last session was in 2022.

Raised on a cotton farm in tiny Farrar, Holmes spent time as a teacher, postmaster and chief financial officer of a family-owned insurance company, according to her legislative biography.

She was the first woman mayor of Monticello. Former President George W. Bush appointed her as executive director of the Farm Service Agency for Georgia in 2007.

“Her decades-long career in public service left an indelible mark on the community she called home, and I’m grateful for the incredible impact she made on our great state,” said House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington.

Listen up

Credit: AJC file photo

Credit: AJC file photo

Today on “Politically Georgia,” state Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, joins the show to talk about his background, his politics and his newly announced run for Georgia governor.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

You can listen and subscribe to the show for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Assault weapon ban

Credit: Mariam Zuhaib/AP

Credit: Mariam Zuhaib/AP

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, decided to run for Congress in part because of how she was impacted by the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who worked alongside her on gun control initiatives after the 2018 mass shooting on their campus in Parkland, Florida.

Earlier this month, some of the survivors of the Parkland shooting who now attend Florida State University were traumatized again when a 20-year-old shooter used a handgun to kill two people on campus and wound five others. Police also recovered an AR-15 rifle in his car and a shotgun.

McBath and U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, are now teaming up to introduce legislation that would ban assault weapons nationwide.

“These are the weapons of choice for school shooters in America, and they are disturbingly easy to access,” McBath said during a news conference Wednesday.

The assault weapon ban legislation is unlikely to get much traction in Congress because Republicans hold the majority in both chambers and GOP leadership is unlikely to allow gun control legislation to come to the floor for a vote.

Headed to Trump’s desk

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde’s legislation that would roll back energy efficiency rules for washing machines, dishwashers and other appliances implemented in the final weeks of former President Joe Biden’s administration.

The Senate vote was strictly along party lines with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed.

Clyde’s legislation now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

“Both consumers and manufacturers are sick and tired of Washington bureaucrats raising costs and stifling innovation through unnecessary mandates,” Clyde, R-Athens, said in a news release after the vote.

Today in Washington

Shoutouts

Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

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Before you go

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

State Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, traveled to the White House on Wednesday. The potential candidate for lieutenant governor or other statewide office met with President Donald Trump’s senior advisers.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to mailto:greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.