On the second day of the 118th Congress, the U.S. House took three more votes in hopes of selecting a speaker. But rounds four, five and six didn’t change the outcome: Republican Kevin McCarthy still doesn’t have the votes to become speaker.
Georgia‘s U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde and 19 other Republican lawmakers continue to oppose the Californian. But with Republicans’ slim majority, McCarthy needs all but four members’ support to get to a majority vote.
On the other side of the GOP divide are all of Georgia’s other House Republicans, including Rich McCormick and Mike Collins, who have not yet been sworn-in.
Our Tia Mitchell spotted McCormick front and center among 17 Republicans holding a midday press conference supporting McCarthy to lead the body.
And the 14th District’s U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of McCarthy’s staunchest backers, continued to confound supporters and critics alike as she sounded like one of the most pragmatic in the chamber.
“We should be fighting on the work that we’re doing, and that’s by getting to 218 and demanding good things be done,” she told conservative host Charlie Kirk. “Not in here fighting over a speaker race that makes the Republican Party look totally inadequate and not prepared to run the country. We have to prove we can run the country to win the White House in 2024.”
As has been the case all along, New York’s U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, received the most votes for Speaker in all six tallies, an irony that Democrats happily highlighted throughout the day.
“For anyone keeping track, @RepJeffries and @GeorgiaFootball are now a combined 19-0 (and counting),” U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, wrote on Twitter after the 5th vote. She later posted an update after the sixth’s cycle: “20-0.”
For anyone keeping track, @RepJeffries and @GeorgiaFootball are now a combined 19-0 (and counting).
— Congresswoman Nikema Williams (@RepNikema) January 4, 2023
The House is scheduled to reconvene at noon to vote a seventh time. Stay tuned.
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MCCARTHY MONEY. As the House GOP leader, Kevin McCarthy has helped raise big bucks for fellow Republicans on the ballot and spent the campaign season writing checks to members as a sign of support. Of course, it was also well known that he expected their backing in return when it became time to select a speaker.
Axios reported that 17 of the 20 lawmakers now standing in the way of McCarthy’s plans received funds from his political committee.
That includes Georgia’s U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens. He received $25,000 from McCarthy’s Majority Committee PAC over his two campaign cycles.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for The Atlanta-Journal-Constitution
Credit: Nathan Posner for The Atlanta-Journal-Constitution
SHAFER CHALLENGE. Georgia GOP chair David Shafer is facing a formidable challenge to his leadership of the state party.
Rebecca Yardley, the 9th District GOP chair, entered the race Thursday with a pledge to energize the party’s grassroots.
“Our party deserves a chairman who is fully focused on taking the steps required to win Georgia elections,” she said. “Now it’s time to have our top leadership at the state match the same energy, concentration, and drive shown by our local members daily.”
Yardley indicated she would strike a contrast from Shafer, who alienated many of the state’s most powerful Republicans by picking former President Donald Trump’s losing candidates in party primaries.
Among them is Gov. Brian Kemp, arguably the state’s most popular Republican, who has used his own newly formed committee to circumvent Shafer.
Shafer has other problems outside the political realm: As a key promoter of Trump’s election fraud lies, he is under investigation for his role as a “fake” elector. Shafer has said he did nothing wrong.
Georgia GOP executive director Ryan Caudelle has said Shafer’s leadership enabled “record-breaking” voter outreach this election cycle.
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NOPE. Gov. Brian Kemp had largely kept silent about President Joe Biden’s push to elevate Georgia in the presidential primary schedule.
But that changed this week ahead of a Democratic National Committee procedural deadline.
Kemp’s aide Cody Hall said “the governor has no role in this process and does not support the idea,” his first public criticism of Biden’s push to rearrange the 2024 schedule.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — not Kemp — will have the final say. But Raffensperger has also expressed doubts about the proposal. Kemp’s opposition could be one more stumbling block. Read more about it here.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- The U.S. House reconvenes at noon for a seventh round of voting to select the next speaker.
- The Senate is in a two-week recess.
- President Joe Biden is meeting with his Cabinet. He will also deliver remarks on border security and enforcement.
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Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
RISING STAR. Politico listed Republican state Sen. Jason Anavitarte as a key state legislator to watch in 2023, a designation we endorse here at the Jolt.
Anavitarte, a Dallas Republican, took the lead on several high-profile bills in the last legislative session, including the permitless carry bill that moved quickly through the Legislature.
And even before the next session has begun, the 44-year-old senator has been elected Senate GOP caucus chairman, co-founded the state’s first Hispanic Caucus, and pre-filed a bill to ban TikTok in Georgia. What else will he be up to this session? We, like Politico, will be watching.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
FANI WILLIS FOCUS. National attention has been focused on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis because of her probe of former President Donald Trump.
But the biggest prosecution on Willis’ plate may in fact be the upcoming trial of hip-hop artist Young Thug and more than a dozen of his alleged associates. Willis’ office is prosecuting the defendants under the state’s anti-racketeering statute, which could also play a prominent role in any potential Trump prosecution.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Jury selection in the YSL (Young Slime Life) trial continues today at the Fulton County Courthouse. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jozef Papp and Shaddi Abusaid have a detailed preview of what to expect in the upcoming proceedings, including as many as 372 witnesses for the prosecution. Among them are more than 100 members of the Atlanta Police Department, as well as Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter, Dequantes “Rich Homie Quan” Lamar, Bryan “Birdman” William and Rashawn “YFN Lucci” Bennett.
NPR reports jury selection alone is expected to take more than a month.
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Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
DOUBLE DIPPERS. A new state Inspector General’s report found that at least 280 state employees received coronavirus-related unemployment benefits, even while they were working full time for the state of Georgia. The average amount of benefits received? Nearly $24,000.
But our pal James Salzer reports even finding and interviewing the double dippers will be a heavy lift for investigators, who are juggling multiple investigations under tight deadlines, including a statute of limitations on COVID-19 fraud cases. Scott McAfee, the IG, suggested several steps that lawmakers could take to extend COVID-19 fraud investigations, which will otherwise clock out after two years from the date of the alleged violation.
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Credit: J. Scott Trubey/AJC
Credit: J. Scott Trubey/AJC
CORNER OFFICE. Big news at the Jolt watercooler: Cox Enterprises announced Wednesday that Andrew Morse has been named publisher of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Morse comes to the paper from some of the (other) biggest names in media, including CNN, Bloomberg, and ABC News. Among his past roles have been executive vice president and chief digital officer for CNN Worldwide, executive producer for innovation for ABC News Digital, and executive producer for the weekend editions of “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight.”
He succeeds Donna Hall, who retired last spring.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
AIR DOOLEY. Delta Airlines honored the late UGA football legend Vince Dooley with his very own plane earlier this week, dedicating a 767 to the coach. Dooley’s signature and UGA’s adorable dawg mug now adorn the front of the plane.
A ceremony unveiling the memorial seal included Barbara Dooley and other members of the Dooley family, as well as UGA alums who have gone on to become the state’s biggest power players. Gov. Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp, Lt. Governor-Elect Burt Jones, Billy Payne, former chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, and plenty of Delta employees were all on hand for the event.
Delta is the official airline of UGA athletics, which means Air Dooley will soon take the current UGA team to Los Angeles to compete in the National Championship, fittingly, with “Vince Dooley” leading the way.
Thank you @Delta for hosting a touching ceremony yesterday honoring Coach Vince Dooley. Our family has been greatly impacted by his leadership and joins all Georgians in cherishing his memory. pic.twitter.com/3E7D21lSLR
— First Lady Marty Kemp (@GAFirstLady) January 4, 2023
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
