Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp intends to select business executive Kelly Loeffler this week to represent the state in the United States Senate and fill the seat of retiring Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA).
Isakson is scheduled to give his farewell address on the Senate floor tomorrow and Kemp is expected to officially announce that he has selected Loefller to fill the Senate seat on Wednesday during a news conference in Atlanta.
“The pick comes despite strong opposition from prominent allies of President Trump, who is reported to have favored Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., for the seat,” NPR reported. “Loeffler is a wealthy businesswoman without political experience. The CEO of Bakkt, a bitcoin-focused subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange Inc., casts herself as a ‘lifelong Republican’ and tells a personal narrative of working her way up the corporate ladder from her family’s farm in rural Illinois.”
Numerous Trump allies told The Daily Wire that selecting Loeffler to the position instead of Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), who is the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, was a mistake by Kemp that could cost him down the road.
A source close to the White House told The Daily Wire: “Brian is going to learn how unhappy people are with this decision the next time he tries to raise any serious money.”
A source close to the Trump campaign told The Daily Wire: “Now is not the time to nominate a liberal, establishment elitist like Kelly Loeffler. Doing so hurts President Trump and jeopardizes the conservative successes of the last three years. Rep. Collins is the obvious choice to represent the people of Georgia as he has an actual record of achievement and is a proven fighter for his constituents.”
A third source, who is a former White House official, told The Daily Wire: “It’s disappointing that Gov. Kemp would appoint a never-Trump, Mitt Romney donor to the open Senate seat in Georgia. The Governor should remember that he wasn’t elected to do the bidding of the swamp, he was elected to stand with President Trump to fight back against it. Make no mistake about it, Kelly Loeffler is the swamp’s choice for Senate in Georgia.”
Trump publicly praised Collins on Monday for his performance over the weekend defending the president against impeachment.
Trump tweeted: “Great job by [Rep. Doug Collins] of Georgia over the weekend in representing the Republican Party, and myself, against the Impeachment Hoax!”
During an interview on Fox News this weekend, Collins addressed the possibility that he could be selected to the Senate seat, saying, “I appreciate the support I’ve received from the president and many others … I have a big job in the next three weeks and that’s impeachment.”
Kemp fired back at the notion that he was not selecting a strong Republican to fill the seat, writing on Twitter: “I stand with hardworking Georgians and [POTUS]. The idea that I would appoint someone to the U.S. Senate that is NOT pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, pro-freedom, and 100% supportive of our President (and his plan to Keep America Great) is ridiculous. The attacks and games are absolutely absurd. Frankly, I could care less what the political establishment thinks. Happy Thanksgiving! More information after the holiday!”
WABE, NPR’s Local Atlanta Radio Station, reported: “Phil Kent, conservative pundit and public relations consultant, worked with Loeffler in 2013 when her name was previously floated as a candidate to replace former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss. He vouched for her conservative platform.”
“I know she was a big opponent of Obamacare,” Kent said. “She’s a proponent of the second amendment. She was very tough on illegal immigration. So she would check some of those boxes with the president.”
WABE added that Loeffler wrote the following in her cover letter to Kemp: “From working on the family farm to creating jobs and opportunity in the business world, I have been blessed to live the American Dream. I am offering myself to serve hardworking Georgians as a political outsider in the United States Senate to protect that dream for everyone.”