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Georgia’s new Republican U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler takes oath of office
Loeffler, appointed by Governor Brian Kemp, will have to defend her seat in November special election
♦By Rich Shumate, ChickenFriedPolitics.com
ATLANTA (CFP) — Kelly Loeffler, a multi-millionaire Atlanta finance executive and Republican mega-donor who co-owns the city’s WNBA franchise, is now officially Georgia’s newest U.S. Senator.
Loeffler (pronouced LEFF-ler) took the oath of office from Vice President Mike Pence on January 6 to replace Johnny Isakson, a veteran GOP lawmaker who resigned his seat due to declining health.
She will seek the remaining two years of Isakson’s term in a special election in November.
Loeffler is sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence (From C-SPAN)
Loeffler, who has no previous elected political experience, was picked for the Senate seat by Republican Governor Brian Kemp in December after a public, two-month search in which he accepted applications from more than 500 would-be senators.
She joins the Senate just in time to participate in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
Loeffler’s appointment had initially received a lukewarm reception from the White House and vocal opposition from some of Trump’s most fervent partisans, although that opposition has dissipated over the past month as Loeffler held a series of private meetings with conservative activists around the state.
Loeffler, 50, will become just the second woman to represent the Peach State in the Senate; the first, Rebecca Felton, was appointed to serve a single day back in 1922.
In addition to bringing gender diversity and an outsider persona to the GOP ticket, Loeffler will also be able to tap her personal fortune for the special election, in which candidates from all parties run against each other, with a runoff between the top two vote-getters if no one wins a majority.
Among the applicants passed over by Kemp was U.S. Rep. Doug Collins of Gainesville, one of Trump’s most vocal supporters in the House who has said he may challenge Loeffler in the special election. A Collins run could pit the president against Kemp, who won the governorship in 2018 after Trump backed him in the GOP primary.
So far, only one Democrat has entered the special election race — Matt Lieberman, the son of former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the party’s vice presidential nominee in 2000.
Georgia’s other U.S. Senate seat will also be on the ballot in 2020, with Republican incumbent David Perdue trying to fend off a field of Democratic challengers.
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Georgia U.S. Rep. John Lewis diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
Atlanta Democrat tells constituents, “I am going to fight it.”
♦By Rich Shumate, ChickenFriedPolitics.com editor
ATLANTA (CFP) — U.S. Rep. John Lewis, the dean of Georgia’s congressional delegation and an icon of the civil rights movement, has been diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer, a disease which has a very low survival rate.
Lewis announced his cancer diagnosis in a news release from his office. He said the cancer was detected during a routine exam earlier in December.
“While I am clear-eyed about the prognosis, doctors have told me that recent medical advances have made this type of cancer treatable in many cases,” Lewis said. “So I have decided to do what I know to do and do what I have always done: I am going to fight it.”
U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia
Lewis said his cancer is Stage 4, which means that it is has spread to other organs outside the pancreas. The five-year survival rate for Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is just 3 percent, according to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
Lewis said he plans to return to Washington and begin treatment while continuing to serve in Congress.
“I may miss a few votes during this period, but with God’s grace I will be back on the front lines soon,” he said.
Lewis, 79, has represented the Atlanta-based 5th District since 1987, routinely winning re-election with little opposition from the Peach State’s most Democratic district.
During the 1960s, as student leader in the civil rights movement, Lewis was among the first Freedom Riders who desegregated interstate bus transportation, and he also helped coordinate the 1963 March on Washington.
In 1965, Lewis was beaten and seriously injured while leading a group of marchers in Selma, Alabama, an event that helped spur passage of the Voting Rights Act.
News of Lewis’s cancer diagnosis prompted a bipartisan outpouring of support on Twitter.
“John, know that generations of Americans have you in their thoughts & prayers as you face this fight,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Georgia GOP Rep. Doug Collins called Lewis “a hero to Georgians and all Americans, including me. My respect and prayers are with this fighter as he faces a new battle.”
“John has never backed down from a fight, and I know he will battle cancer with the same courage and toughness he has always demonstrated,”said House Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana.
Former President Barack Obama said “if there’s one thing I love about @RepJohnLewis, it’s his incomparable will to fight. I know he’s got a lot more of that left in him. Praying for you, my friend.”
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10 Southern U.S. House Democrats in seats flipped in 2018 all vote to impeach
List of supporters includes 5 Democrats who represent districts Trump carried in 2016
♦By Rich Shumate, ChickenFriedPolitics.com
WASHINGTON (CFP) — All 10 Southern U.S. House Democratic freshmen who flipped seats in 2018 voted in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump Wednesday, including five who represent districts the president carried in 2016.
The impeachment vote is likely to become a pivotal issue next year as these Democrats try to hang on to their seats against Republican challengers, in an election where Trump is at the top of the ballot.
After more than 10 hours of often acrimonious debate, all 50 Southern Democrats in the House voted for both of the articles of impeachment, which charge Trump with abusing his power and obstructing Congress.
Southern Republicans stuck with the president, with all 102 voting no.
The Democrats from districts Trump carried who voted yes were Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria of Virginia, Lucy McBath of Georgia, Kendra Horn of Oklahoma, and Joe Cunningham of South Carolina.
All of them had announced prior to the vote that they would support impeachment; McBath had already voted in favor in the House Judiciary Committee.
The two articles of impeachment were also supported by five other Democrats who flipped GOP-held seats in 2018 in districts that Trump did not carry — Colin Allred and Lizzie Fletcher of Texas, Jennifer Wexton of Virginia, and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Donna Shalala of Florida.
Two other Democrats who hold seats the GOP is targeting in 2020 — Stephanie Murphy and Charlie Crist from Florida — also voted for impeachment.
The lone Republican in a Southern seat carried by Hillary Clinton in 2016, Will Hurd of Texas, who is retiring in 2020, voted no, as did 13 other Southern Republicans who have announced they won’t seek another term next year.
The two articles of impeachment now move to the Senate for a trial, which is expected to begin in January. Trump will be removed from office if two-thirds of the senators vote to convict him on either article.
The final vote on the first article of impeachment was 230 to 197, with just two Democrats — Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and Collin Peterson of Minnesota voting no. No Republicans voted yes.
The second article of impeachment passed 229 to 198, with another Democrat — Jared Golden of Maine — joining the GOP in voting no.
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2 Southern U.S. House Democrats in GOP-targeted seats support impeachment in Judiciary Committee
U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath of Georgia and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell vote to remove President Trump
♦By Rich Shumate, ChickenFriedPolitics.com editor
WASHINGTON (CFP) — Two Southern freshman U.S. House Democrats who are on the Republicans’ 2020 target list — Lucy McBath of Georgia and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell of Florida — voted with their party Thursday in favor of articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump that were approved by the House Judiciary Committee.
The committee vote on articles of impeachment, after a contentious debate that stretched across three days, was the first formal legislative step in the process of trying to remove Trump from office. The full House is expected to vote next week on the articles, which accuse Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Lucy McBath (left) and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
McBath represents the 6th District in the northwestern Atlanta suburbs that Trump narrowly carried in 2016. The president lost Mucarsel-Powell’s 26th District, which includes the southern part of metro Miami-Dade and the Florida Keys, by 16 points.
Republicans are targeting both seats in 2020.
During the debate on the impeachment articles, McBath said she was supporting them with “a heavy heart and a grieving soul.”
“I am greatly saddened by what we have learned, and I am forced to face a solemn conclusion — I believe the president abused the power of his office, putting his own interests above the needs of our nation, above the needs of the people that I love and serve,” she said.
“This is not why I came to Washington. I came to Washington because I love my country. I came to Washington full of hope, empowered by my community to serve them in Congress,” she said.
McBath also invoked the memory of her son, Jordan, whose murder in a racially charged shooting in 2012 started her down a road of activism that led her to Congress.
“I made a promise to my community that I would act. I promised that I would take that sense of protection, that love a mother has for her son, and I would use it for my community, for the American people,” she said.
McBath’s chief 2020 Republican opponent Karen Handel — whom McBath defeated in 2018 — said Americans remain “unmoved” by the “impeachment scam” and accused McBath of being “more interested in finding ways to take down President Trump than she is in finding the facts.”
“Lucy — it’s time to get back to work for GA6 and end these games,” Handel said in a Facebook post.
In her debate remarks, Mucarsel-Powell said she “did not come [to Congress] to impeach the president, but this president has violated the rule of law.”
“It is undeniable that this president has violated his oath of office, abused his power and obstructed Congress,” she said. “This is a clear and present danger to the future of our democracy.”
Mucarsel-Powell also said the issue of impeachment is “bigger than party, and the Constitution has no partisan allegiance.”
“We all agree that we cannot allow this president, or any future president, to abuse the power of the office,” she said. “We cannot accept a president who says, ‘America First,’ but really puts his own interest before the country.”
Mucarsel-Powell’s Republican opponent, Irina Vilariño, said “it saddens me that during this Christmas season, we are watching one party driven by politics and a personal agenda attempt to derail the American Presidency.”
“Unlike my opponent, I’m not interested in being a part of a political clique or spending all of my time trying to drag someone else down,” she said in a Facebook post. “I am interested in delivering common sense, practical leadership for our constituents and for our district.”
Eight other Southern Democrats on the Judiciary Committee who represent safe seats also voted for the articles of impeachment, including Steve Cohen of Tennessee; Hank Johnson of Georgia; Cedric Richmond of Louisiana; Ted Deutch and Val Demings of Florida; and Shelia Jackson Lee, Sylvia Garcia and Veronica Escobar of Texas.
All eight Republicans on the committee voted against the impeachment articles, including Doug Collins of Georgia; Martha Roby of Alabama; Matt Gaetz and Greg Steube of Florida; Ben Cline of Virginia; Mike Johnson of Louisiana; and Louie Gohmert and John Ratcliffe of Texas.
Watch McBath’s full statement in the Judiciary Committee
Watch Mucarel-Powell’s full statement in the Judiciary Committee
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5 Southern U.S. House Democrats from pro-Trump districts support impeachment bill
Vote on bill outlining procedures for impeachment process breaks down along party lines
♦By Rich Shumate, ChickenFriedPolitics.com
WASHINGTON (CFP) — Five Southern U.S. House Democrats who hold seats from districts President Donald Trump carried in 2016 voted with their party Thursday to approve procedures for his possible impeachment, a vote they’ll have to defend as they fight to keep their seats next year.
The Democrats from Trump districts who voted yes included Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria of Virginia, Lucy McBath of Georgia, Kendra Horn of Oklahoma, and Joe Cunningham of South Carolina.
Cunningham, Horn and McBath had not previously expressed support for the impeachment inquiry; Spanberger and Luria had.
Five other Democrats who also flipped GOP-held seats in 2018 — Colin Alled and Lizzie Fletcher of Texas, Jennifer Wexton of Virginia, and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Donna Shalala of Florida — also voted for the resolution. Those districts were carried by Hillary Clinton in 2016.
These 10 seats are at the top of the GOP target list for 2020, with the impeachment vote certain to be an issue in those races.
Two other GOP 2020 targets — Democrats Stephanie Murphy and Charlie Crist from Florida — also voted in favor of the impeachment measure.
The lone Republican in a Southern seat Clinton carried, Will Hurd of Texas, voted no, as did eight other Southern Republicans who have announced they won’t seek another term in 2020.
The overall vote among Southern House members on the bill broke down entirely along party lines. Across the whole House, no Republicans supported the measure, while two Democrats — Collin Peterson from Minnesota and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey — voted no.
Thursday’s vote was the first formal move by House Democrats to advance the impeachment of Trump over his overture to the president of Ukraine to investigate corruption allegations against his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
Cunningham told the Post and Courier newspaper of Charleston that he was voting for the bill in order to make the investigation into Trump more transparent, as Republicans have been demanding.
“Overall it’s a good measure to shine some light on these hearings and make sure that we respect due process,” Cunningham told the Post and Courier.
Horn, announcing her support for the bill on Twitter, stressed that she was only supporting an investigation, not Trump’s actual impeachment.
“It is a vote to create clear rules for effective public hearings and ensure transparency for the American people,” she said. “As I’ve said all along, I always look at the facts in front of me and vote in the best interests of Oklahomans.”
Even before the vote, McBath had felt the potential sting of the impeachment fight when unhappy Trump supporters picketed her district office in suburban Atlanta earlier this month. In response, McBath took to Twitter to say she refused “to be intimidated, I will do what is right,” and included a fundraising solicitation in her post.
Three Southern House members did not vote on the impeachment bill — Jody Hice of Georgia, John Rose of Tennessee, Don McEachin of Virginia.
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