Georgia Senate Republicans are shaking up their leadership while reaffirming that they won’t strip power from incoming Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who has been serving as a state senator.
Republicans meeting behind closed doors on Friday chose Sen. John Kennedy of Macon as their nominee for president pro tem, the second-ranking member of the chamber. The full Senate will vote on the post when it convenes for a new term on Jan. 9. But with Republicans holding a 33-23 majority, Kennedy is likely to win that vote.
Senators also voted to let Jones assign senators to committees, name committee chairmen and assign legislation to committees. Those powers, along with presiding over debate in the Senate, help a lieutenant governor shape legislation. Lawmakers took back some or all of those powers in 2003, when a Republican majority wanted to curb Democratic Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, and in 2010 when GOP senators were unhappy with fellow Republican Casey Cagle.
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