Jon Ossoff

Your daily jolt of news and analysis from the AJC politics team.

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., questions Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Today’s newsletter highlights:

Democrats prep a counterprogramming blitz ahead of Donald Trump’s Cobb County visit.

The U.S. House passed a temporary government funding bill to avoid an election season shutdown.

Multiple members of Trump’s Cabinet join TikTok.

Costly questions

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, seen here during a committee hearing last week. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s Senate hearing clashes have become so central to his reelection strategy that his aides send advance notices when one is about to begin.

Tuesday’s installment featured Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee to defend the administration’s handling of the conflict with Iran — and an estimated price tag that he said has climbed to $37 billion.

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Things to know

President Donald Trump gestures to supporters during a rally at Rome's Coosa Steel service center in February. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

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President Donald Trump is visiting Cobb County’s Wheeler High School today to promote a new investment account for children. But, as Greg Bluestein reports, Trump rarely sticks to the script.

Georgia voters should look twice before donating money to candidates this election season, Sophia Eppley reports. Some websites fraudulently selling merchandise and collecting donations in candidates’ names, new research shows.

Two Republican groups linked to the scandal-ridden First Liberty Building & Loan did not violate campaign finance laws when they sought to influence Georgia elections, a state administrative hearings judge has ruled. David Wickert reports that the State Ethics Commission accused the Georgia Republican Assembly and its political action committee of failing to disclose more than $180,000 of contributions and other violations.

Democrats mobilize

A protester holds a sign reading "No ICE, No Kings, No War" outside an April Turning Point USA event in Athens, featuring Vice President J.D. Vance and Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk. (Felix Scheyer for the AJC)

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No fly zone

Air Force One carrying President Donald Trump arrives for the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, earlier this month. (Abdullah Güçlü, Pool Photo via AP)

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Air time

President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House last week. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)

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Listen up

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins speaks to supporters at his watch party after winning the Republican U.S. Senate nomination last month. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

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Government funding

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and GOP leaders depart after meeting with reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

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Today in Washington

Trump will first head to Dover, Delaware, to participate in a ceremony where the remains of service members killed during the war with Iran will be returned. Then he will fly to Marietta to speak at an event highlighting his new savings program for children.

The House will vote on the National Defense Authorization Act. They are also scheduled to vote on a bill that would ban members of Congress from buying stock and take the first step on a third reconciliation bill that would fund the war in Iran, provide bailouts for farmers and grants for states to make elections changes.

The Senate will vote on more Trump nominations.

TikTok time

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins (left) and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler were previously Georgia U.S. Senate candidates in 2020. (AJC)

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Shoutouts

Georgia State Rep. Rick Jasperse, seen here at the Paul D. Coverdell Legislative Office Building in 2023. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

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State Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper.

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Before you go

Foris Webb III was hired to help Atlanta handle a petition seeking a public vote on the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. (Photo Illustration: Chris Skinner for the AJC | Source: Miguel Martinez for the AJC, File, Getty)

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