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Forts Benning, Gordon part of push to rename bases honoring Confederates
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee this week adopted an amendment to require the Defense Department to rename U.S. military facilities named in honor of Confederates, including two in Georgia. The amendment from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, was adopted during a closed-door vote on annual defense policy legislation. The language was […]
McBath to George Floyd’s brother: ‘I know exactly how you feel’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath consoled the brother of George Floyd during a Wednesday Capitol Hill hearing as she drew on her family’s personal tragedy to appeal to lawmakers to ensure the man didn’t die in vain on the pavement in Minneapolis. “We come to this hearing today as a result of deep morally […]
Congressional Dems lay out expansive police reform plans
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats outlined their vision for sweeping police reforms on Capitol Hill Monday, following weeks of nationwide protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. “Never again should the world be subjected to witnessing what we saw on the streets of Minneapolis: the slow murder of an individual by a uniformed […]
Rep. Collins, Stacey Abrams spar in virtual hearing over voting rights
WASHINGTON — Two high-profile Georgia politicians quarreled over voting rights on Wednesday during a virtual U.S. House hearing over ensuring access to the polls during a pandemic. Rep. Doug Collins, a Gainesville Republican who’s running for a Senate seat this fall, sparred against Stacey Abrams, who launched the voting rights advocacy group Fair Fight 2020 […]
Georgia Dems finally face off in high-stakes U.S. Senate primary
WASHINGTON — Georgia Democrats are increasingly bullish that their candidate will oust Republican Sen. David Perdue in November. But it may still be months before they know who that candidate is. Georgia’s primary election is scheduled for next Tuesday — it was delayed from its initial May 19 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The […]
‘Loeffler’s boat has taken on a lot of water.’ Can she recover?
WASHINGTON — Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s opponents are reveling in the recent headlines. The Republican senator confirmed last week that she had sent documents about her recent stock trades to federal investigators. Polls suggest she’s lagging well behind her top GOP opponent in her bid to hold onto her U.S. Senate seat. A former Georgia […]
House passes $3T relief bill, declared ‘dead on arrival’ in Senate
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Friday cleared a massive $3 trillion relief bill aimed at blunting the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sweeping legislation, which passed largely along partisan lines by a vote of 208-199, carries a price tag that’s roughly equal to the four previous coronavirus response bills already signed into law. […]
Loeffler provides financial records in federal ethics probe, her office says
Updated 8:45 on May 14 to include additional statement from Loeffler’s office. WASHINGTON — Georgia Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler has turned over financial records to the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Senate Ethics Committee, although it’s unclear if she did so voluntarily. Loeffler’s office had said earlier […]
Loeffler slams China, ‘mainstream media’ at COVID-19 hearing
WASHINGTON — Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler on Tuesday bashed Chinese officials and the “mainstream media” at a hearing about the reopening of U.S. schools and workplaces. Loeffler said she was “incredibly concerned about the coverup and the misinformation coming from China and their efforts to suppress life-saving information at the outset of this outbreak.” […]
From hospital, Justice Ginsburg slams Trump birth control rules
WASHINGTON — Hospitalization for a gallbladder condition didn’t stop U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from assailing the Trump administration’s birth control rules on Wednesday. Ginsburg, 87, was hospitalized at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Tuesday night, but was animated as she participated in an oral argument via teleconference surrounding a Trump administration policy that […]
Trump intelligence nominee grilled on ‘deep state’ conspiracy theory
WASHINGTON — Last summer, Texas Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe withdrew himself from consideration to be the national intelligence director, just days after President Donald Trump nominated him for the job. Key Senate Republicans appeared reluctant to fully embrace the nominee — who has a reputation as a conservative firebrand in the U.S. House — and Ratcliffe faced accusations […]
Trump’s critics warn his order to keep meat plants open imperils workers
WASHINGTON — Democratic senators are accusing President Donald Trump of putting workers at risk by ordering meat and poultry processors to remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic. Senate Democrats are asking Trump to amend an executive order he signed last week, which declared meat plants to be “critical infrastructure” and ordered his administration to ensure that they […]