Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025
Good morning! In the news today: Coastal Georgia’s congressman and MAGA on the eve of a planned Epstein vote; a Liberty County city levies a property tax for the first time; and a judge rules against Savannah’s gun ordinance. Finally, we note some things for your radar. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com.
ANALYSIS: POLITICS
Epstein divisions
This week was poised to be a pivotal one in the political life of Coastal Georgia Congressman Buddy Carter.
Until, that is, President Trump did an about-face late Sunday and urged House Republicans to approve legislation this week that would compel the Justice Department to release the Epstein files. “We have nothing to hide,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.
When, as expected, the measure comes up for a vote on the House floor on Tuesday, Carter can press the “yea” button without fear of retribution of the kind Trump has been dishing out to Carter’s colleague in the House, Marjorie Taylor Greene.
In recent days, the president has railed against Greene as a “traitor,” a “ranting Lunatic,” “wacky,” and a “disgrace to our GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY,” in part at least for her urging that he “lean into” the Epstein investigation.
Yet for MAGA voters casting votes in next spring’s primary, the question of how Carter would have voted prior to the president’s turnabout may not be so inconsequential, The Current’s Craig Nelson writes. A substantial number of the GOP’s MAGA base care deeply about the Epstein files and what they contain, on moral as well as political grounds.
NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY
Savannah’s gun ordinance struck down
Reaction to last week’s local court ruling striking down Savannah’s controversial ordinance requiring firearms left in vehicles to be “securely stored” in compartments or in a locked trunk fell along expected lines.
Beth Majeroni, president of Ladies on the Right, hailed the ruling by Recorder’s Court Judge Brian Joseph “Joe” Huffman on what she termed, “Van Johnson’s ordinance.” And in a statement to The Savannah Morning News, Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, called it “a major victory for law-abiding gun owners, who shouldn’t be punished for the actions of criminals and thieves.”
Saying that the city would appeal the verdict, Mayor Van Johnson told the newspaper that, “Our position remains firmly grounded in long-established legal precedent: the City is regulating the use and operation of the vehicle — not the firearm itself, which Georgia citizens are lawfully entitled to possess.”
NEWS: GOVERNING
‘Sticker shock’
While Georgia’s lawmakers, especially during election season, look for ways to cut property taxes, this is news: The city of Walthourville in Liberty County is putting one in place for the first time.
With the city of some 4,000 people saddled with debt, Walthourville’s city council voted 4-1 to impose a property tax on homeowners, which is projected to bring in a little more than $1 million in 2027, reports The Current’s Liberty County reporter, Robin Kemp.
The additional $1,000 bill for many homeowners will produce “sticker shock,” warned Ronald Hunter, a resident. Mayor Sarah B. Hayes said previous administrations were largely at fault for the arrears.
NEWS: UPDATES
For your radar
• On the coast: Savannah’s city council held a budget retreat on Monday. Click here for the proposed FY2026 budget under discussion. It forecasts some $311 million in revenues and expenditures for that year. . . . The developer of a mixed-use development in Starland Village now wants to convert a former church into a boutique hotel, Savannah Agenda’s Eric Curl reports. . . . State Rep. Carl Gilliard (D-District 162) hosts the Eighth Annual Georgia International Conference on Trade and Commerce.
• In the state capital: The hemp industry in Georgia faces a hit. . . . a new prosecutor takes over Trump election interference case. . . . The state agency that oversees election finance wants more power to investigate probable violations. . . . As immigration detention centers fill, legal help runs short, especially in south Georgia.
• In D.C.: U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both Democrats, vote against reopening the federal government, with Warnock saying deal “doesn’t provide relief to the 1.2 million Georgians who are about to see their health care premiums double and more.” . . . End of the shutdown or not, the roughly 42 million low-income Americans who rely on Washington to purchase groceries are left “shaken” and plans are floated to redirect $3.9 billion in federal assistance for the homeless.
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Buddy Carter skirts a reckoning on Epstein controversy
President Trump has reversed his position on the Epstein files, urging House Republicans to pass legislation to release them, which removes a difficult choice for Congressman Earl L. “Buddy” Carter on how to vote.
Accreditation of colleges, once low key, has gotten political
Six Southern public university systems have formed a new accreditation agency, which has shaken the national evaluation model of higher education, and has been met with criticism from some accreditors, who say the Trump administration is reshaping accreditation for political reasons.
New budget bans THC from hemp, with implications for Georgia business, consumers
The hemp industry faces a potential boom in black market activity due to a new law that will ban over 95% of hemp extract products, including CBD, with the exception of 0.4 milligrams of THC per container.
Lawmakers weigh seismic changes to Georgia’s voting equipment
Georgia’s state leaders are currently debating whether to replace the state’s current ballot-marking devices with hand-marked paper ballots, with some lawmakers pushing for the change and others cautioning against it before the end of the state’s 10-year contract in 2029.
Georgia election case against Trump proceeds with new prosecutor after Willis’ removal
Peter J. Skandalakis has been appointed as the new prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump, after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified due to a conflict of interest.
Agency seeks more power to enforce campaign finance law
The state agency that oversees election finance wants more power to investigate probable violations, while the leader of the Senate’s special committee on investigations has proposed tightening campaign finance laws.
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