Confirmation politics, ‘Kay Ivey Correctional’: Down in Alabama

Trump's AG nom ...

At least one lawmaker from Alabama was already firing shots over the bow regarding President Trump's announced nominations for his administration's leaders.

AL.com's Howard Koplowitz reports that U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville warned fellow Republican Senators against opposing the confirmation of recently resigned Congressman Matt Gaetz for U.S. Attorney General.

Said Tuberville: "If you want to get in the way, fine. But we're going to try to get you out of the Senate, too, if you try to do that."

That doesn't mean Tuberville expected the Gaetz nomination any more than the rest of the Senate did. News outlets including the New Republic reported that upon learning the news Tuberville let out a surprised "Holy cow."

The Tuberville threat might be another indication that Gaetz for AG could be the toughest confirmation immediately facing the Trump Administration.

Remember that in January 2023, during voting for House Speaker, Gaetz and Congressman Mike Rogers, a Saks Republican, looked as if they might square off in a fight on the House floor. Gaetz was among those blocking Kevin McCarthy's Speaker bid.

Later that year, the House was thrown into more chaos as Gaetz led a successful effort to remove McCarthy from the position.

McCarthy has claimed Gaetz's motivation was a House Ethics Committee investigation over allegations of Gaetz paying for sex with a 17-year-old. The Justice Department dropped its related criminal investigation, and the House investigation was ongoing until Gaetz resigned the House yesterday.

... and the Senate majority leader

A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Katie Britt said she really did vote for Rick Scott for Senate Majority Leader, reports AL.com's Sarah Whites-Koditschek .

After Britt said she voted for Scott, social media lit up with rumors that she was lying. John Thune won that election, which didn't sit well with a lot of Trump supporters.

The rumor seems to track back to Laura Loomer, who at times has been somewhat close to Donald Trump. She posted that a source told her Britt lied. Apparently, she's also had sources tell her things about 9-11, school shootings and even Ron DeSantis' wife's cancer that don't bear repeating here. So weigh that as you will.

Scott thanked Britt for her support, and Britt as well as fellow Scott supporter Tommy Tuberville both said they'd support Majority Leader Thune.

John Lewis statue

There is a new statue of John Lewis in Montgomery, reports AL.com's Heather Gann .

Lewis represented a Georgia district in the U.S. House of Representatives, but he was from Pike County, Alabama, and of course came to fame for leading civil-rights marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday, when they were attacked by authorities.

The statue was unveiled at the Equal Justice Initiative's Legacy Plaza. It joins statues of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

Hard time at 'The Kay'?

A state board has passed resolutions on the transfer of property and construction contract for the new men's prison in Escambia County, reports AL.com's Mike Cason .

That's the second of two prisons that are being built as part of the current plan. The one in Elmore County is under construction and expected to be finished in around a year and a half.

The same board also put a name on the Elmore County prison: The Governor Kay Ivey Correctional Complex.

Just think. One day you might be able to tell somebody you did your time at "The Kay."

Ivey spearheaded the prison plan, which started out with a $1.3 billion price tag. Now, the cost of the Elmore County prison alone is approaching that, so paying for the Escambia prison is another hurdle to clear.

Still, State Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, a Greensboro Democrat, is on board with the Republican-led plan, considering demands from the U.S. Department of Justice that Alabama improve the state of its prisons.

"Building prisons is not sexy," Singleton said. "I would rather spend money on building schools or doing something else. But the federal government has said that we need to do something about our prisons."

$300,000 That's how much Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Mark Sullivan would make annually under a contract approved by the school board. That would have him making more money than the state superintendent and as much as Creshal Threadgill, Mobile County's superintendent, who became the first superintendent in the state to reach $300,000 last year.

More Alabama News

'Good Dad Act' would give unmarried fathers parental rights with mother's approval

Thomas Rhett's concert at Coca-Cola Amphitheater could be its first show

Anti-censorship group urges action in library culture war

End could be nearing for downtown Huntsville landmark

New Gap ad features Alabama musician

Born on This Date

In 1954, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice of Birmingham.

The podcast