CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — As a metro Atlanta financial executive gets ready to take over as Georgia’s next U.S. senator, she tells Channel 2 Action News that she believes the impeachment process into President Donald Trump is politicized but plans to take the Senate trial very seriously.
Channel 2 political reporter Richard Elliot spoke exclusively with Kelly Loeffler, a Republican who is getting ready to take over the seat being left vacant by Johnny Isakson, who resigned on Dec. 31.
Isakson announced in August that he would leave office at the end of 2019 because of health reasons. Gov. Brian Kemp announced at the beginning of December that he was appointing Loeffler to fill Isakson’s vacancy.
[READ: Local politicians release statements on Kelly Loeffler announcement]
“It’s truly an honor, and it’s work that I’m energized to do,” Loeffler said.
One of the very first things she will have to deal with is impeachment and the Senate trial. Loeffler told Elliot that she’s ready.
“Obviously, I’ll be taking impeachment very seriously. I’m very confident that Leader McConnell will do a great job making sure that the Senate really acts as that shock absorber to the political process that’s playing out, as well,” Loeffler said. “We need to get back to the business of working for all Americans and working on issues that they really care about. I think impeachment is a distraction and a sideshow for all the things that we need to do.”
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Loeffler will serve on a few committees, including veterans’ affairs and agriculture, which are important to her because she grew up on a farm.
The co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, she has presented herself as a lifelong conservative who is "pro-Second Amendment, pro-military, pro-wall and pro-Trump."
“I mean, the conservative values that I was raised with on a farm, hard work, faith, family community, these are all the things I think that make Georgia great and that I’m going to bring into the Senate,” Loeffler said.
Elliot asked her why she wanted to walk away from a very successful business career and get involved in politics.
[PHOTOS: Sen. Johnny Isakson through the years]
“It’s honestly a calling I’ve felt to public service for many years. I looked at running for office in 2013 for the '14 cycle,” she said.
Loeffler committed to running for the office in 2020, though she may face a tough challenge from Rep. Doug Collins, a favorite of Trump.
She told Elliot that she’s retaining a number of Isakson’s staff members to help her with the transition.
Loeffler will become the second woman in Georgia history to serve in the U.S. Senate when she is sworn in Jan. 6.
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