Georgia’s Blame Carousel: State Leaders Trade Jabs as Federal Shutdown Drags On

The blame game continues amid the federal government shutdown, and Georgia political leaders from both parties are pointing fingers at each other.

Republican leaders in the Georgia General Assembly sent a letter to Democratic U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock accusing them of “hurting Georgians” by not voting yes on a plan to reopen the government.

“We have two Democrat Senators that neither one of them are willing to buck their party to open the government is disappointing,” State Rep. Houston Gaines, a Republican of Athens, told Atlanta News First. “Senator Ossoff, he’s up for election next year. I think he’s going to pay the price at the ballot box.” 

Rep. Rich McCormick, a Republican of Georgia’s 7th Congressional District, published a press release on Wednesday calling on the Georgia Senators to “stop blocking government funding that would keep food assistance flowing.” 

“The government shutdown has now become the longest in U.S. history because Senate Democrats refuse to do their job,”said McCormick in the release.“It’s time for them to put the political games aside and put Georgians first.”

Democratic state representatives and senators also sent a letter to Georgia’s Republicans in the House of Representatives, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 80 Democrats accused U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins of failing to negotiate. 

“It is unfathomable that the House of Representatives has been absent from work, as Georgians are already receiving notices about their health insurance premiums skyrocketing,” the letter reads. 

The letter cites coverage from the AJC, which indicates that a 60-year-old couple in Fulton County could see their Affordable Care Act monthly premium rise from $800 to $2,200.

At a press conference last week, State Rep. Ruwa Romman placed the blame for the shutdown on Republicans.

“Every shutdown has happened when Republicans controlled the Senate in my lifetime,” Romman said. “What we’re actually seeing is that people are correctly and rightfully pointing to where the pressure should be, which is Republicans who have not been working for over 40 days.”

State Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes spoke at a press conference last week calling on Gov. Brian Kemp to use some of the $14 billion surplus to continue funding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for the state and criticized the governor for using technical difficulties as an excuse for not sending the funding.

“He’s the governor of Georgia. I’m asking him to figure it out and get the billions and billions of dollars that we have in a surplus, and we can take that and we can actually help Georgians,” Islam Parkes said. 

Fallon McClure, Deputy Southeast Regional Director for Working Families Party, speaks at a press conference on Oct. 30 about the misconceptions surrounding those who use food assistance programs. She stands with State Rep. Ruwa Romman (left) and State Rep. Gabriel Sanchez.