ATLANTA (AP) – Is it bad enough to call it a feud? Maybe not yet, but tension between Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and House Speaker David Ralston is becoming one of the defining features in the young 2020 session of Georgia’s General Assembly.
The conflict between the Republican officials flared again Wednesday, with Ralston telling reporters that House members are still unhappy with the budget information they’re getting from the Kemp administration. Earlier, lawmakers were miffed when Kemp told agency heads not to appear before legislative committees last summer after he announced budget cuts.
“We started asking for this information as far back as last September and were assured that we would have it, and frankly, some of the information we still don’t have,” Ralston said after he pushed through a weeklong timeout from normal legislative business. He wants House members to focus intensely on Kemp’s proposed budget cuts amid a revenue slowdown – cuts that are getting clear pushback from many House Republicans.
Kemp’s spokeswoman fired back Wednesday, criticizing Ralston for attempting to change how Georgia holds special elections. The unsuccessful attempt would likely have boosted the U.S. Senate bid of Doug Collins, a Ralston friend, and undercut Kemp’s appointed choice, Kelly Loeffler.
“While we respect the Legislature’s purview, the governor does not need a lesson in conservatism from a man who brokered a deal with Democrats just last week for political gamesmanship,” Candice Broce said in a statement.