Georgia Democrats push Republicans in Congress to end Trump’s tariffs

Georgia Democrats are ratcheting up pressure on House Republicans to roll back President Donald Trump’s tariffs, arguing they’re driving up prices during the holiday season.

The state’s Democratic congressional delegation urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring a Senate-passed resolution to the floor that would end the national emergency used to declare global “reciprocal” tariffs. The measure cleared the Senate this fall in a narrow, bipartisan vote.

“As Christmas and the holidays approach, families in Georgia and nationwide are suffering as prices continue to rise,” the delegation wrote in a letter this morning, warning higher costs could “ruin the holiday season.”

The letter is symbolic. House Republican leadership blocked votes on Trump’s tariffs until January, and any rebuke on tariff resolutions would need a two-thirds majority to overcome the president’s expected veto.

But the push comes as Democrats aim to tie the tariffs to rising consumer costs. The letter, spearheaded by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, cites a LendingTree analysis that estimate the tariffs amount to a $29 billion hit to consumers this holiday season.

Things to know

Credit: Mark Baker/AP

Credit: Mark Baker/AP

Good morning. Georgia’s legislative session starts in 28 days. We’re 155 days away from the primary for U.S. Senate, governor and other offices.

Here are three other things to know for today:

Mystery ad

Remember that $1 million mystery ad attacking Lt. Gov. Burt Jones?

Records now show “Georgians for Integrity” has spent nearly $5 million slamming the Republican candidate for governor. And it’s out with a second TV spot.

That’s a striking sum for this point on the calendar, when voters are more focused on holiday plans than campaign ads. It’s either a remarkably gutsy pre-holiday splurge — or an early warning sign that far more money is waiting in the wings.

Execution protests

Credit: Georgia Department of Corrections

Credit: Georgia Department of Corrections

Anti-death penalty advocates are planning a dozen events across the state this week to oppose the upcoming execution of Stacey Humphreys.

Humphreys is scheduled to die on Wednesday for the 2003 murders of Lori Brown and Cynthia Williams, two Cobb County real estate agents.

Humphreys has a hearing scheduled before the Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday. Today, faith and community leaders will present a petition to the board urging that they vote for clemency.

Georgia’s Catholic bishops wrote an open letter opposing the execution, writing that they are praying for healing for victims’ families.

“We must work toward a legal system and society in which that healing, rather than vengeance, is our aim,” they wrote.

It takes a majority of the five-member board to grant clemency. The board has held six hearings since 2019 but only granted clemency once. That was to Jimmy Fletcher Meders who was convicted of killing convenience store clerk Don Anderson in 1987. In that case, the jurors from Meders’ trial who were still living supported the clemency.

Park fees

Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times

Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times

The Trump administration has reshuffled which days national parks will offer free admission next year — and the changes are already drawing sharp reaction.

Under the new schedule, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth will no longer be fee-free. Instead, visitors will be able to enter national parks for free on June 14, which is President Donald Trump’s birthday as well as Flag Day.

Over the weekend, senior AJC reporter Ernie Suggs asked former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young — a close confidante of King — about the move at our Headline House event. Young responded by invoking a line from a poem by James Weldon Johnson.

“Young man, young man, your arm is too short to box with God.” Then Young added: “I’ll leave that there.”

First Liberty

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

A court-appointed receiver overseeing the collapse of First Liberty Building and Loan is asking a federal judge to impose strict new rules on borrowers who are fighting efforts to collect millions of dollars in defaulted loans.

In a filing Sunday, receiver S. Gregory Hays proposed a set of procedures to streamline litigation with borrowers who received investor funds but have resisted repayment since the Securities and Exchange Commission shuttered the politically-connected firm this summer.

Custody fight

The state Supreme Court last week declined to strike down Georgia’s equitable caregiver law. But that doesn’t mean the law is safe.

The court in February said it had “serious concerns” about the 2019 law, which lets people seek custody of children even if they are not the child’s legal guardian or related by blood.

In a recent case, a woman asked the court to strike down the law after a lower court used it to grant custody rights to the woman’s former partner. Instead of deciding whether the law was constitutional, the court ruled the lower court did not consider the case properly and asked them to try again.

But Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson, in a separate opinion, noted he still has concerns about the law. He said it presumes the state Legislature has the power “to create a new class of persons who enjoy fundamental constitutional rights of a parent.”

“I am skeptical that the General Assembly has such power,” Peterson wrote.

Still, Peterson said he could envision a scenario where a child was harmed by not having visitation rights with a caregiver. But he said it was hard to imagine a situation where a child would be harmed by their parent’s decision to not share legal custody with someone else.

Rest in peace

Credit: AJC file photo

Credit: AJC file photo

Claire Bartlett, the executive director of the anti-abortion group Georgia Life Alliance, has died following a battle with brain cancer.

Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon announced her death on Saturday, calling her “a beacon of joy, a true happy warrior for the conservative values we held dear.”

She was a key player in passing a Georgia law that bans abortions after doctors detect fetal cardiac activity, our AJC colleague Maya T. Prabhu reports.

Republican elected officials across the state, including Gov. Brian Kemp, shared condolences on social media Saturday.

“Claire Bartlett was an unshakable advocate for those who are the most vulnerable among us,” Kemp said on X. “We could not be more grateful for her support, passion, and leadership.”

Her funeral will be held on Friday.

Listen up

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast we examine the surprise Democratic victory in a northeast Georgia special election and what it signals for 2026. Then we answer your questions on independent voters, political labels and Georgia’s data center debate.

You can listen and subscribe to Politically Georgia for free an Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

Decision week

Today is the deadline for people who want to purchase health coverage on the Affordable Care Act exchange and have it take effect on Jan. 1. And that means families are making decisions based on pricing that reflects to end of the coronavirus-era subsidies that have been a focus of ongoing debate in Congress.

Last week, the U.S. Senate rejected a Democratic bill that would have extended the subsidies for three more years. Republicans also failed to drum up support for their alternative proposal that would have let the subsidies expire and implemented new health savings accounts instead.

The U.S. House is set to vote on an alternative health care proposal this week. The plan backed by Speaker Mike Johnson would not extend the subsidies. But it would make other changes conservatives say will lower costs, including placing limits on pharmacy benefit mangers and expanding access to low-cost health plans.

“House Republicans are tackling the real drivers of health care costs,” Johnson said.

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries later called the proposal the “height of irresponsibility.”

Democrats and moderate Republicans are likely to have a chance to vote on an amendment that would keep the subsidies going for another year or more, but it is not clear if there is enough support for that to pass.

This is the final week of action in Congress before the holiday recess that will last until Jan. 5.

Today in Washington

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Happenings:

Shoutouts

Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

Today’s birthday:

Belated birthday:

Noteworthy:

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Before you go

Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC

Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC

The Georgia Office of Inspector General found that Janice Johnston, vice chair of the State Election Board, violated the board’s code of conduct by attending a Donald Trump campaign rally last year.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.