Latest news with #PoliticallyGeorgia
Miami Herald
7 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Georgia Republican pushes back on Trump's position on immigrants
ATLANTA - A Dalton Republican who supported President Donald Trump said he is against the administration's hard-line stance on immigration. "It's one of those deals where you hold your nose on some issues," state Rep. Kasey Carpenter said on the "Politically Georgia" podcast. "But it's been heartbreaking for sure." Carpenter is known for his hard-line conservative voting record, but he breaks ranks with his GOP colleagues over immigration. "I hope that I've shown my colleagues that it's OK to do the right thing. You might lose five points in a primary," he said. "You might lose 10 points in a primary, but you're doing the right thing." Carpenter's district is majority minority, according to 2023 data from the Georgia Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office, with 50% of its residents reporting as Hispanic, 42% white and 4% Black. The area made headlines when college student Ximena Arias-Cristobal was arrested earlier this month by a Dalton police officer and turned over to federal immigration authorities after a traffic stop. The Mexican-born Georgia woman has been released on bond, and the officer in the incident has resigned. "She was really ingrained in our community," said Carpenter, who wrote a character letter on behalf of Arias-Cristobal. "So it was a huge outpouring of support for her." Carpenter says Republicans and Democrats alike raise money on the issue of immigration, using communities as "political volleyballs." But for him the solution is simple. "You secure the border, get rid of the hardened criminals (and) give the people that have been here a long time a pathway," he said. "I think the reality is the overwhelming majority of Americans would support it." Carpenter's stance is supported by data in the latest round of AJC polling. In the poll, 57% of people surveyed said they believe there should be a way for most people who have come to the U.S. without permission to stay in the country legally if they meet certain requirements. "There are good people that have been here for a really, really long time that we don't want to get rid of," Carpenter told hosts Greg Bluestein and Patricia Murphy. Have a question or comment for the show? Call or text the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 770-810-5297. We'll play back your question and answer it during our next Monday Mailbag segment. You can also email your questions at PoliticallyGeorgia@ Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to "play Politically Georgia podcast." AJC staffers Adam Beam and Phoebe Quinton contributed to this report. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Supporters, opponents of Kemp's lawsuit legislation overhaul ratchet up pressure at Georgia Capitol
Michael Rosemary (left) said hotel employees ignored signs she was a sex trafficking victim and is arguing against legislation to limit lawsuit awards. Charles Tarbutton, a Sandersville trucking company CEO, said he speaks for the little guy who is getting hurt by large jury damage awards. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder With fewer than 10 legislative days to go until the gavel falls to send state lawmakers home on April 4, pressure is mounting on both sides of the fight over the future of Georgia's civil litigation landscape. Although Senate Bill 68, the omnibus lawsuit overhaul bill backed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, passed quickly through the state Senate, it has languished in the House Rules Subcommittee on Lawsuit Reform, a sign that the bill's proponents in the House are still working to gain the support needed to ensure its passage. The special subcommittee has held four separate hearings on the bill over the past two weeks, each featuring hours of public testimony, but lawmakers adjourned Wednesday without voting on the legislation. A companion bill with more bipartisan support, Senate Bill 69, has yet to be heard in the committee. And as the end of session draws nearer, both supporters and opponents of the bill are getting organized, sending letters to lawmakers, providing testimony in committee and holding press conferences at the Georgia Capitol in an effort to plead their case to state lawmakers. At a Thursday morning press conference held on the north steps of the Capitol building — a prominent location usually reserved solely through the governor's office — business executives from across Georgia gathered to trumpet their support for the bill. Representatives spanning industries like manufacturing, agriculture, health care and trucking spoke about the growing cost of doing business in Georgia, arguing that large jury settlements and baseless lawsuits were leading to inflated insurance premiums that threatened their prosperity. 'Georgia's trucking companies are being run off of the proverbial road by Georgia's imbalanced civil justice system,' said Charles Tarbutton, the president and CEO of the Sandersville-based trucking company B-H Transfer, adding that his company was currently facing a dozen lawsuits. 'I've heard many times over the last several weeks, 'this is really about big corporations versus the little guy,'' Tarbutton continued. 'I urge the members of the House to reject that fallacy. I speak on behalf of those 75,000 truck drivers in Georgia. We are the little guys.' Kemp has previously argued that sweeping policy changes are needed to bring down insurance costs for businesses throughout the state, vowing to bring back lawmakers for a special session if he felt they came up short in delivering 'meaningful, impactful' changes. A top Kemp aide also appeared on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Politically Georgia talk show before the bill appeared on the Senate floor, threatening to use the governor's substantial leadership committee campaign war chest to back primary challengers for any Republicans who voted against the bill or supported 'unfriendly amendments.' But at a second press conference Thursday, held later that same day on the opposite side of the building, members of the growing opposition to SB 68 voiced their objections, arguing that the legislation would restrict survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking from being able to hold bad actors accountable. 'Noticing and acting are two very different things,' said Michael Rosemary, a human trafficking survivor and activist who said hotel employees actively ignored the abuse she endured at the hands of her pimp. Hotels like the one where she was abused, she added, 'were complicit, and that makes them responsible. This bill would allow these very businesses to walk away without any consequences. It would take away one of the only forms of justice survivors have left: The ability to hold these businesses that enabled our abuse accountable.' Victims' advocates also raised concern about a provision that would allow trials to be bifurcated, or split into multiple stages, arguing that it would be retraumatizing for survivors of violence and abuse to have to provide testimony multiple times. They also urged lawmakers to add an amendment to the bill that would carve out a few exemptions for survivors of sexual abuse and human trafficking, as well as for children and elderly plaintiffs. Despite the uncertainty, House Speaker Jon Burns, a Newington Republican, said he expects to see a vote on the bill in a committee meeting next week. 'We're doing exactly what we said we would do,' Burns said when asked about the delay in passing SB 68. 'We do what the House does when a bill comes over from the Senate: we're speaking to the Senate, we're speaking to the governor. We're ensuring that we have all the information on the table.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GOP congressman says DOGE might be moving 'too fast' after facing angry town hall
Rep. Rich McCormick faced a town hall full of constituents angry over DOGE last week. Now, he seems the government-efficiency initiative is moving too quickly. "I'm concerned that maybe we're moving a little bit too fast," he said. Last week, Rep. Rich McCormick faced a town hall full of voters angry about President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency's swift reshaping of the federal government. Now, the Georgia Republican says he's worried the government-efficiency initiative is moving too quickly. "I'm not against anything he's doing, but I'm concerned," McCormick said on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's "Politically Georgia" podcast on Monday. "I'm concerned that maybe we're moving a little bit too fast." At a town hall in Roswell, Georgia on Thursday night, McCormick fielded a variety of contentious questions about the Trump administration's recent moves, with many of the questions focusing on the firing of federal workers and the cutting of certain programs. The Georgia congressman, who represents a conservative-leaning district, said on Monday that he'd prefer a more methodical approach to cutting than the rapid pace that Elon Musk's DOGE is setting, including the shuttering of entire government agencies. "We should have impact studies on each department as we do it, and I'm sure they can do that," McCormick said. "But I think if we're moving really, really rapidly, we don't know the impact." McCormick also suggested that he's not the only House Republican who's concerned by the pace of DOGE's work. "I think there's debate of how rapidly we're moving," McCormick said. "Some people who are very conservative also think we should move much more slowly." In response to a request for comment, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to BI that Trump has "enjoyed broad support" for his cost-cutting initiatives. "The spending freeze is already uncovering waste, fraud, and abuse across federal agencies and ensuring better stewardship of taxpayer dollars, including for American farmers and families," Kelly said. "Ultimately, President Trump will cut programs that do not serve the interests of the American people and keep programs that put America First, just as 77 million voters elected him to do." Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
On eve of key Georgia Senate vote, hints emerge Kemp's 2025 priority ‘tort reform' faces headwinds
Gov. Brian Kemp is ramping up pressure on Republican state senators to support his plan to pass new limits on lawsuits in Georgia, which is up for a key vote Friday. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder (2024 file photo) Gov. Brian Kemp kicked off his penultimate year in office in January with the threat of a special session if 'meaningful, impactful' limits on lawsuits are not passed by the time lawmakers head back home in early April. And Kemp's camp upped the ante Thursday when a top aide said the governor would cause electoral headaches for any Republican who does not support his all-in push for so-called tort reform. Cody Hall, who is a senior advisor for Kemp, said they expect 'unfriendly' amendments to be offered up Friday, including proposed changes to the governor's plan to rein in what supporters of lawsuit award limits call phantom damages – or jury awards beyond a plaintiff's actual financial hit. The comments, which were made on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Politically Georgia talk show, were a public sign that the governor's proposed overhaul on lawsuit rules might be in trouble with a key vote set for Friday. Hall said that 'a vote for that amendment, a vote to change the bill, would be a vote against the governor, it would be a vote against tort reform.' He then said the governor's leadership committee, which is a powerful fundraising tool that allows Kemp to raise unlimited funds, would be used against those Republicans when they are on the ballot again in 2026, including some lawmakers who may seek higher office. 'This is his top legislative priority. He has a political infrastructure and a political organization that is committed to supporting his priorities, and we're going to make darn sure that folks that were with us are supported, but we're also going to make sure that voters are reminded of those who do not stand with him,' Hall said. A bill containing the bulk of the governor's plan passed out of a Senate committee earlier this month with an 8-3 vote along party lines after a five-hour meeting. A companion bill, which would increase regulations on third-party sources of funding for lawsuits, cleared the committee with bipartisan support but is not scheduled for a vote tomorrow. Both bills are sponsored by Macon Republican Sen. John Kennedy. Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones, an Augusta Democrat, said Senate Democrats oppose the governor's bill as it is. On Thursday, Jones unveiled an alternative plan that is narrowly focused on what he said is the Democrats' chief objection to the governor's plan: new limits on a business' liability for injuries that occur on their property. Jones argued that the Democrats' plan would increase protections for the business without jeopardizing the public's ability to pursue legitimate lawsuits. 'It actually brings the two interests together, which are not mutually exclusive. Businesses, we want them to thrive. We also want to make sure people are safe,' Jones told reporters Thursday. The governor's plan would raise the standards for plaintiffs to prove that business owners were negligent. Jones said the Democrats are proposing legal protections that reward businesses for taking steps to improve on-site safety for their customers. Without the support of Senate Democrats, the governor has few GOP votes to spare. Republicans have a 33-to-23 edge in the Senate, where 29 votes are needed to pass a bill. An amendment needs the majority vote of those present to succeed. Going into Friday, all eyes are on the civil trial attorneys who serve in the Senate. The state association that represents trial lawyers is opposed to the governor's overhaul plans. Georgia Recorder freelancer Maya Homan contributed to this report.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Marjorie Taylor Greene considers run for senate or governor. What should Georgians know?
Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is considering a run for governor or senator. Here's what you need to know. In a recent interview last week on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's "Politically Georgia" podcast, Greene stated that she is considering both positions but hasn't made a decision. Greene, who has served Georgia's 14th congressional district since 2021 and recently chaired the House's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) subcommittee, is a prominent figure within the Republican party. Her close ties to President Donald Trump and popularity among MAGA supporters suggests strong potential backing for either campaign. Trump previously endorsed Greene and pledged his full support should she choose to run for the Senate. Brian Kemp has been Georgia's Governor since 2019, representing the Republican party. Both representing the Democratic Party, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are Georgia's senators. Ossoff is likely running for re-election during the 2026 election cycle. Warnock's seat will not be up for re-election until 2028. On Nov. 3, 2026, is the election to elect the 2026 governor of Georgia. Vanessa Countryman is the Trending Topics Reporter for the the Deep South Connect Team Georgia. Email her at Vcountryman@ This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Is Marjorie Taylor Greene running for Georgia governor?
