From U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s office this morning comes word that he’ll speak for the last time on the floor Tuesday afternoon, around 2:30 p.m. You can can watch on C-SPAN or the Senate floor webcast by clicking here.
Other senators will be offering tributes after his remarks, led by Georgia Sen. David Perdue.
Isakson announced in August he would be stepping down at the end of the year due to health issues. He has been battling Parkinson’s Disease and fractured ribs this summer in a fall in his Washington apartment.
Praise for the East Cobb Republican has been bipartisan, including his embrace with U.S. Rep. John Lewis in November during a House floor tribute.
But the process for filling Isakson’s post through next year’s election grew ugly over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
This week Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to appoint Atlanta businesswoman Kelly Loeffler, and recently flew with her to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump.
Trump wanted Georgia Congressman Doug Collins, a strong Trump ally, to get the post. On Twitter, another Trump backer, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, threatened to find a primary opponent for Kemp if he chose Loeffler, who has never held public office.
Kemp and one of his advisers answered back on Twitter, as the discourse dwindled down to insults over Gaetz’ jorts attire.
Some critics of Loeffler—an executive with a bitcoin company and the co-owner of the Atlanta Dream women’s pro basketball team—don’t think she’s conservative enough. She served on the board of directors at Grady Memorial Hospital, which one pro-life advocate called “an abortionist training hub.”
Others want Collins because he would be a vocal defender of the president if the Senate conducts a trial following possible impeachment in the House.
Kemp, who got a big boost from Trump last year to win the GOP nomination for governor, is said to prefer Loeffler to appeal to moderate and female voters in the Atlanta suburbs, which has become a partisan battleground.
That includes the East Cobb area and the 6th Congressional District, where a 2017 special election was won by Republican Karen Handel, who in turn was defeated by Democrat Lucy McBath, a gun control advocate, last year.
Isakson is among the GOP establishment who’s endorsed Handel as she attempts to win back her seat next year.
Loeffler will become only the second woman from Georgia to serve in the Senate. Her seat will be contested in a jungle primary and possibly a runoff late next year, with the winner to fill the final two years of Isakson’s term.
Related stories
- Isakson’s colleagues pay tribute as he leaves U.S. Senate
- Editor’s Note: The admirable legacy of Johnny Isakson
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
