Democrats question cost of sending National Guard troops to Washington.
Federal regulators consider allowing cellphone jamming in prisons.
Donald Trump’s niece endorses Marjorie Taylor Greene’s opponent.
Not so fast
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff spoke at town hall in Atlanta earlier this year.
Credit: Jason Allen/AJC
During U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s media blitz in August, he championed the passage of a bill he supported aimed to help veterans avoid foreclosure. Now, Republicans are accusing him of taking credit for legislation he wasn’t directly involved in.
The VA Home Loan Program Reform Act was not controversial and passed both chambers by a voice vote. But Ossoff, who earlier this year had criticized the Trump administration for cancelling a different veterans home assistance program, made a big deal about the initiative becoming law.
His office sent out a news release the day President Donald Trump signed the bill, saying it was “bipartisan legislation that Sen. Ossoff championed to help veterans relying on VA home loans and experiencing severe financial hardship avoid foreclosure.”
A few weeks later, Ossoff held a news conference in Columbus where he was flanked by local elected officials and people representing veterans organizations. He was careful not to describe himself as a sponsor or chief architect of the bill, but even calling himself as a “champion” of the law rubbed some Republicans the wrong way.
Among them was U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., the bill’s chief sponsor. He accused Ossoff of using veterans as political props, writing on X that Ossoff “had absolutely nothing to do with this bill, and I mean nothing.”
“This disgusting and shameful behavior must stop,” Orden wrote.
Ossoff’s team declined to respond to the GOP criticism, which comes as he is running for reelection. He’s one of the biggest targets for Republicans hoping to flip Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat.
But if lawmakers decide it’s off limits to “champion” legislation you didn’t sponsor, then there is a recent example from the other side. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter of St. Simons Island in his latest campaign ad shows him taking credit for passage of the Laken Riley Act, named after the nursing student who was murdered on the University of Georgia campus by a man living in the country illegally.
Carter, who hopes to become the Republican candidate challenging Ossoff next fall, voted for the bill. But so did every other House Republican and dozens of Democrats, too.
The primary sponsor of the Laken Riley Act is one of Carter’s rivals in the GOP Senate primary: U.S. Rep. Mike Collins of Jackson.
Things to know
Good morning! Here are three things to know for today:
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit arguing the Cobb County School Board map was racially discriminatory, the AJC’s Cassidy Alexander reports.
Attorney General Chris Carr has sued an Atlanta company, alleging it deceived consumers by offering foreclosure assistance only to then take title to more than 70 homes, the AJC’s Matt Reynolds reports.
Guarded
In Washington, National Guard soldiers recently patrolled the area near the Labor Department, where a poster of President Donald Trump was visible.
Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP
About 30 Democratic state lawmakers signed a letter Monday condemning Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to send more than 300 Georgia National Guard troops to Washington to reinforce President Donald Trump’s federal incursion.
The letter sent last night accused Kemp of blind loyalty to Trump and warned the deployment sets a “dangerous, unsound precedent.”
But lawmakers also zeroed in on the financial burden, saying if the troops are not “federalized,” Georgia taxpayers will be left footing the bill.
“With looming federal budget cuts, the politically motivated move to spend our state tax dollars to invade other states without their consent is a costly endeavor and puts Georgia at even greater risk of not meeting the needs of our citizens as required in our state Constitution,” read the letter.
“We request an immediate fiscal accounting of the projected expenses, the scope and scale of the mission, and the anticipated timing for their deployment.”
Kemp’s office has said some support staff have already been dispatched to Washington, while hundreds more are scheduled to mobilize in mid-September. The governor has insisted the state’s military forces, which are also deploying in Georgia to back Trump’s immigration crackdown, are not overstretched.
No phone zone
Contraband cellphones have plagued prison systems across the country for decades. Now, federal regulators are poised for the first time to let states jam mobile phone signals near detention facilities.
If the new rule passes a Federal Communications Commission vote later this month, one of its biggest impacts could be in Georgia. The AJC’s Danny Robbins and Carrie Teegarden have chronicled how the state’s troubled prison system has been besieged by violence as previously small-time crooks morphed into sophisticated crime lords behind bars. Cellphones have played a big part in their nefarious success.
An 88-year-old man was mistakenly assassinated in a hit called in by prisoners in 2021. And before that, an inmate used smuggled cellphones to scam $11 million from an elderly billionaire — money he then used to purchase gold coins to buy a mansion in Buckhead.
Still, the issue isn’t so cut and dried. Opponents worry the jamming technology might be too good, restricting legitimate cellphone use near prisons, such as 911 calls.
Those concerns haven’t been enough to dissuade Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican running for governor in 2026 who fully endorsed the plan after his previous lobbying of the Biden administration.
“Prisoners with contraband cell phones are ordering murders, and this has to stop now,” Carr said in a news release. “We’re thankful to finally have partners in the White House and the FCC who are willing to work with us to keep people safe.”
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Trump endorsement
Democrat Shawn Harris is running against U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome.
Credit: Courtesy photo
Shawn Harris, aDemocrat challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, has been touting a Trump endorsement lately. But it’s not one that would make any MAGA Republican nervous.
Mary Trump, President Donald Trump’s niece, announced her backing of Harris’ campaign last week. Long estranged from the Trump family, Mary Trump has emerged as a ferocious critic of her uncle. During the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, she published a book with an incendiary title: “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.”
Aside from Mary Trump’s famous last name, Harris’ news release touting the endorsement doesn’t mention her famous relative. Instead, Harris heralds Mary Trump as someone who “has been fearless in speaking truth to power.”
Her endorsement probably has more to say about Greene than Harris. Greene’s national prominence has made her a favorite target of the left, often resulting in her doomed challengers posting impressive fundraising numbers but failing to succeed at the ballot box.
This is Harris’ second time challenging Greene, who represents Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. He lost to her in the 2024 general election, receiving 36% of the vote to her 64%.
Work awards
Courtney English is the interim chief of staff and chief policy officer for the Atlanta mayor's office.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
One of Georgia’s largest workforce training organizations will honor some of the country’s biggest companies today for “investing in inclusive hiring and workforce development.”
Goodwill of North Georgia will host a celebration of its “Power of Work Awards” today at The Gathering Spot. Honorees include Piedmont Hospital, United Healthcare, City of Atlanta, Amazon, Walmart and Unifi.
The keynote speaker is Courtney English, whom Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens tapped to be his interim chief of staff back in July. A former chair of the Atlanta Board of Education, English had been a senior adviser to Dickens before his promotion. The AJC’s Riley Bunch has chronicled his growing influence, noting English’s team at city hall has doubled in size since 2023 to around 60 people.
Speeches aside, job seekers will probably benefit more from the career fair scheduled to start immediately after the ceremony. The fair will offer connections with employers, free professional headshots and resources for coaching, resume help and training programs.
Listen up
Andrew Morse, president and publisher of the AJC, is a guest today on the "Politically Georgia" podcast.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast, Greg Bluestein and Patricia Murphy unpack the massive federal raid on Hyundai’s electric vehicle plant and what it means for Gov. Brian Kemp’s economic agenda, U.S. relations with South Korea, and the 2026 Senate race.
Then Andrew Morse, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s president and publisher, joins the show to discuss the decision to end the paper’s print edition and what’s next as the AJC goes fully digital.
You can listen and subscribe to Politically Georgia for free at 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.
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Today in Washington
President Donald Trump will participate in a ceremonial swearing in for John Arrigo, ambassador to Portugal, and sign a proclamation.
The House could begin consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act.
The Senate will vote on more of Trump’s nominees.
Shoutout
Former Republican state Rep. Penny Houston was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives for 20 years.
Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
Today’s birthday:
Former state Rep. Penny Houston.
Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that. Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
Before you go
CJ Pearson attended a Donald Trump rally in Rome last year.
Credit: Courtesy photo
CJ Pearson didn’t win a state House seat last year. But he’s moved on, landing a huge Washington Post profile this week about his efforts in Washington to make Trumpism “youthful, sexy, multiracial and fun.”
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