State @RepDavidTClark tells me he’s considering legal action after he was booted from the Georgia House for failing to take a coronavirus test —
and that he plans to return tomorrow. #gapol
From House Speaker David Ralston’s spokesman:
“The member will be allowed to return upon complying with the policy for the safety of all those who have to come to the Capitol.
This is about preventing the spread of a disease that has killed more than 12,000 Georgians.” #gapol
Clark is the son-in-law of state Sen. Brandon Beach, who came to session in March obviously ill after getting a COVID test. The test later turned out to be positive. Several members of the Senate caught COVID-19 during its first few weeks in Georgia. ajc.com/politics/georg…
Something both parties agree on: “We strongly support Speaker David Ralston in his efforts to preserve and protect the health and safety of the members and staff of the House of Representatives and all those who enter the doors of the Georgia State Capitol.” #gapol
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Next up, @ossoff and @ReverendWarnock will be sworn in, cementing Democratic control of the Senate. They’re set to take office around 4:30 this afternoon.
“@Ossoff will be sworn in using a book of Hebrew scripture once owned by Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, who led Atlanta’s historic synagogue The Temple...”
The rabbi was a key MLK ally who encouraged ATL’s Jewish community to fight for civil rights and oppose hate & intolerance. #gasen
Rothschild’s synagogue was bombed in ‘58 by white supremacists angered by his opposition to segregation; it was a turning point in ATL. Civic leaders rallied behind him, and Jewish Atlantans who were wary of getting involved in politics woke up. the-temple.org/bombing
You can draw a line between Rothschild’s leadership during the civil rights era and @ossoff’s election this month as the first Jewish US senator in Georgia history — not just symbolically. Ossoff earned his bar mitzvah from The Temple about 20 years ago. #gapol#gasen
The Jolt: Georgia officials are expected to certify Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock’s runoff victories today, setting up a swearing-in as early as Wednesday. #gapol#gasenajc.com/politics/polit…
More jolt: Rep. @NikemaWilliams has filed a bill that would bar Trump from stepping foot inside the U.S. Capitol ever again. “President Trump has shown time and time again that he is a danger to our democracy and a threat to the country.” #gapolajc.com/politics/polit…
Georgia @GovKemp tries to set a new tone at the state Capitol after a divisive election, endorsing a revamp of the citizen's arrest law and calling for an end to ‘harmful’ misinformation. #gapolajc.com/politics/kemp-…
Georgia Democrats don’t buy it. House Minority Leader James Beverly says the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid and more aggressively contain the virus has repercussions: “We cannot afford to stand by when Georgia rises in the ranks of these shameful metrics.” #gapol
“These measures do not prevent fraud. They prevent democracy.” Georgia Democratic state Sen. @elenaparent on @GovKemp’s call for new voter ID requirements for absentee ballots following GOP defeats in November and January. #gapol
Georgia @GovKemp opens his State of the State honoring the lives lost to the pandemic: “Those great Georgians may be gone, but they will not be forgotten. We will win this fight against COVID-19 and their legacies will live on for generations to come.” #gapol
@GovKemp This might as well be a message to Kemp's fellow Republicans: “There are some who want to look to the past, assign blame, settle old scores, and relive and relitigate 2020. Today I think we should take the advice of those wise farmers. Let’s clear the fields and start planting.”
@GovKemp The loudest and most sustained ovation -- by far -- has gone to Dr. Kathleen Toomey, the state's top health commissioner. "God sent Georgia the right person at the right time," Kemp said. #gapol
Says Loeffler: “Rest assured: the fight to advance the American Dream is far from over. The fight to protect conservative values is far from over. And the fight against socialism and the radical agenda of the left is very far from over." #gapol#gasenajc.com/politics/polit…