Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Georgia Republicans fight over scholarship funding.
- State House minority leader patches things up with U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.
- Congress will likely avoid a partial government shutdown.
Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is holding the first major event of his reelection campaign next weekend as he tries to channel angst and opposition to President Donald Trump into political momentum.
Ossoff’s campaign is mobilizing voters for his March 22 “Rally for Our Republic” in Atlanta by urging Democrats to fight Trump and other Republicans who are “determined to consolidate power, sow chaos and entrench unprecedented corruption.”
“As citizens, it is our obligation to be visible and outspoken at this pivotal moment in American history,” read the announcement for the rally, which will also feature Georgia U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.
For Ossoff, the call to action is a return to his political roots. He first ran for a U.S. House seat in 2017 with a “make Trump furious” mantra and he’s once again trying to galvanize voters around the Republican’s policies.
Like other Democrats, he also wants to harness voter fury over Trump adviser Elon Musk’s ongoing effort to gut the federal workforce through the Department of Government Efficiency initiative.
He has his work cut out for him. The first-term lawmaker is considered the most vulnerable Senate Democratic incumbent on the ballot next year, and Republicans are already maneuvering to challenge him if Gov. Brian Kemp passes on a run.
Among the other potential contenders are U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter of St. Simons Island, Mike Collins of Jackson, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Rome, and Rich McCormick of Suwanee, as well as Insurance Commissioner John King and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Ossoff, of course, has beaten steep odds before. He and Warnock won doubleheader runoffs in 2021 over GOP incumbents to flip control of the U.S. Senate. His rally announcement invokes those upset victories.
“Those historic victories shocked and inspired the nation,” it read. “Now Georgia must once again light the path out of darkness.”
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
GOOD MORNING! We’re 21 days away from Sine Die, the final day of the legislative session. State lawmakers are off today and Monday. They’ll be back on Tuesday.
Here are four other things to know for today:
- A new report shows how college students in Georgia are spending a larger percentage of their family income to pay for their education, the AJC’s Eric Stirgus reports.
- A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to rehire thousands of federal employees fired from six agencies, ruling the terminations were carried out unlawfully by a government personnel office overseen by a Georgia bureaucrat, Greg Bluestein reports.
- The number of jobs in Georgia fell by 28,000 in January, but the unemployment rate remained at 3.6%, which is lower than the national average of 4%, the AJC’s Mirtha Donastorg reports.
- A bill intended to grant relief for Hurricane Helene timber losses could morph into a $60 million-a-year tax credit for the Georgia film industry, the AJC’s David Wickert writes.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
FUNDING FIGHT. A publicly-funded scholarship for private school students has prompted a fight among Republicans in the state Legislature — but not in the way you might think.
Republicans all support this scholarship, but they disagree on how much money they need to pay for it. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp wants $141 million, or enough to pay for 22,000 students. House lawmakers want $45 million, or enough to cover about 7,000 students.
House Appropriations Committee Chair Matt Hatchett, R-Dublin, said they looked at similar programs in other states and discovered that, most of the time, less than 1% of eligible students used the scholarship in its first year.
Instead, the House used that money on other things, including $28 million to create a grant program for impoverished school districts. It’s an acknowledgement of education advocates who have long complained that Georgia’s school funding formula doesn’t account for poverty.
“It’s not that we’re not wanting to choose to fund the Promise Scholarship,” Hatchett said. “Do we need all of this?”
Senate Republicans say they do. In the first 12 days of the scholarship application period, about 7,000 families have started applications, according to Lynne Riley, president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission.
Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a likely candidate for governor in 2026, said restoring the scholarship funding “is a top priority I will not waver on.”
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MEDICAID MESS. A prominent health care organization is raising the alarm over the state Department of Community Health’s decision to shift Georgia Medicaid contracts to new insurers.
The Georgia Primary Care Association warned in an open letter that the transition could interrupt essential health services for patients, meaning many could face delays, denied claims or lapses in coverage that could be life threatening for some.
“Our most vulnerable populations — children in foster care, individuals with disabilities, pregnant women and seniors — cannot afford to fall through the cracks of an uncertain system,” the letter read.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
NONPARTISAN. Georgia lawmakers are close to eliminating partisan elections for magistrate judges. Could district attorneys and sheriffs be next?
Of the 1,600 judges in Georgia, 38 magistrates are still elected with “Democrat” or “Republican” next to their name. A bill to make those elections nonpartisan passed the House last week and cleared a Senate committee this week. Making probate judges nonpartisan would require a constitutional amendment.
State Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, said he wants to make the entire criminal justice system nonpartisan, which would include district attorneys and sheriffs. He indicated that would be “the best way to operate a judicial system.”
That could be harder to pass. Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II, D-Augusta, said “such a move would be based on politics only.”
“This nonpartisan push for DAs and Sheriff only started after those who identified as Democrats and especially after African Americans who identified as Democrats started winning those positions,” Jones said. “Forcing them into a partisan label will not help the issue.”
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Credit: WSB-TV
Credit: WSB-TV
BURIED HATCHET. State House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley seems to have repaired her relationship with Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff ahead of his reelection bid next year.
Hugley had been angry with Ossoff over his behind-the-scenes maneuvering to try and force U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams of Atlanta out as chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia.
At the time, Hugely told the “Politically Georgia” podcast that “there’s no excuse for a U.S. senator to behave this way and to challenge her in the way she has been challenged.”
Asked about the riff on “Politically Georgia” this week, Hugley said Ossoff called her in November after he heard her comments.
“We had a good discussion about his point of view, as opposed to my point of view, and the conversation was a very cordial conversation,” she said.
After telling Ossoff, “That’s not how you show that you are a big tent and you have space for everyone,” Hugley said the two have moved on. “It’s all good,” she said.
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LISTEN UP. The Politically Georgia podcast is off today. But tune in Monday for the weekly “Mailbag Monday” edition.
If you have a question or comment for the show, call the mailbag hotline. That number is 770-810-5297.
And be sure to download the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
***
Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
COUNTDOWN TO SHUTDOWN. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has decided that a government shutdown, which could be prolonged while President Donald Trump and Elon Musk use it as an excuse to further reduce the number of federal workers and programs, is worse than Republicans’ continuing resolution to fund the federal government through September while cutting $13 billion in non-defense spending.
“For sure, the Republican bill is a terrible option,” the New York Democrat said in a floor speech Thursday evening. “It is deeply partisan. It doesn’t address far too many of this country’s needs. But I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option.”
Schumer’s announcement strongly indicates that enough Senate Democrats are prepared to vote with Republicans to pass that legislation this afternoon and set up a final vote on the bill as soon as tonight.
While a shutdown appears to be off the table for now, the intrigue shifts to which Democrats will help Republicans meet the 60-vote threshold to avoid a filibuster.
By doing so, they will be credited with helping avoid a shutdown while simultaneously drawing criticism from fellow Democrats for allowing a funding package to become law that gives the White House broad leeway in determining how dollars are spent while requiring cuts that could affect health care and safety net programs.
That procedural vote is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. today.
Both of Georgia’s senators, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, said they will vote against the bill. But that leaves a bit of ambiguity about whether they will take the same position on the initial and crucial filibuster vote.
If they are also a “no” then and allow other Democrats to move the measure along, Ossoff and Warnock are likely to be targeted by Republicans and accused of supporting a government shutdown. That attack line could follow Ossoff as he campaigns for reelection in 2026.
But an initial “yes” vote would create a new point of frustration with their base of progressive voters who have spent the week urging Democrats to flex their muscle and oppose the GOP’s government funding plan. That disappointment is unlikely to be quelled if they then oppose the measure on final passage.
***
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Donald Trump will outline his vision for the Department of Justice during a speech at its headquarters and sign more executive orders at the White House. Expect Attorney General Chris Carr to attend.
- The Senate will vote on whether to advance government funding legislation and on a House-passed bill to classify fentanyl as a schedule 1 controlled substance.
- The House is out until March 24.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
SHOUTOUTS. Transitions:
- Chris Green is the next president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission. Green will replace Lynne Riley, who is retiring at the beginning of April.
- Carmen Foskey Bergman is joining Greater Georgia Action Inc. as senior political adviser. Greater Georgia was started by former Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who now leads the Small Business Administration. Foskey Bergman has been something of a legend in state Republican politics since her college days, and she was tapped as the executive director of the Georgia GOP when she was 21.
- Adam Magnus, Lauren Passalacqua, Christie Roberts, and Jordan Wilson have launched MPWR Media Strategies. You may remember Magnus as the mastermind behind “Alvin the beagle” and other memorable mainstays of U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s bid. Roberts and Passalacqua were also key aides during his Senate runs, something Warnock invoked when he called the trio the “best at what they do.”
Credit: Screenshot
Credit: Screenshot
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.
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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.
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