RFK Jr. furious over past comments about black children
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced sharp questions in Congress over comments he made on a podcast about black children and drugs during the 2024 campaign.
The newest member of the U.S. House of Representatives has begun work in earnest in Washington.
Republican Clay Fuller was sworn in on April 10, just four days after winning a special election runoff to replace former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.
Fuller said he joined the Second Amendment Caucus and the Congressional Sports Caucus during his first week in office, co-sponsored several bills, and quickly became an active member of the House.
Fuller still has the highly controversial footwear left behind by Greene, who had a public falling out with President Donald Trump after he said Greene had strayed from her 2024 campaign message of “America First.”
While Mr. Fuller continues his political career, he must also continue his campaign. Because he won his seat in a special election, he is still up for re-election in the midterm elections, and Fuller is scheduled to be on the ballot in the May 19 Georgia primary and the November general midterm election.
Here’s a look at his first week.
Video attacking Maryland
On Sunday afternoon, Fuller posted a video sharing her recent experience in Maryland.
“I just stayed in a hotel in Maryland for work. It turns out that as part of my new job’s Green New Deal nonsense, the air conditioning is turned off while I sleep. This is a terrible policy that makes their state like Europe. Another example of why they’ve never won an SEC Championship.”
Fuller said her hotel room’s air conditioner broke during the night, so she went to the front desk for help and was told by a staff member that there was an “AOC Green New Deal” that would turn off the air conditioner in rooms that weren’t working. Fuller said the staffer suggested a “VIP setting” to disable the shutoff, but he was “offended,” saying, “I’m supposed to be in VIP mode already. I’m from Georgia.”
Fuller went on to say that Georgia was named after George Washington, who “invented freedom” (the state was actually named after King George II), and that the state is the “birthplace” of Braves player Ronald Acuña Jr. (born in Venezuela) and the birthplace of University of Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton (which is true).
“So I say to Maryland, I know you guys just joined the union and you don’t have a football team. If Gunner Stockton was born here, he’d probably play a fake sport like lacrosse. But AC literally saved billions of lives. Socialism killed billions of lives,” Fuller said.
The tone of the video, coupled with Fuller’s monotonous expressions seen in many of his videos, is consistent with Fuller’s extensive presence on social media, with many in the comments section defending Maryland and lacrosse and condemning the false statements Fuller shared.
But a spokesperson for Mr. Fuller told USA TODAY that the video was “obviously satirical” and that “no reasonable person would think he was serious.”
Fuller calls ‘anchor babies’ a ‘deliberate invasion’
“Nearly 10% of births in the United States are anchor babies,” Fuller said in an April 18 post on X, referring to children born in the United States to non-citizen mothers who acquire citizenship under the U.S. Constitution.
“This is not the immigration our Founders intended. This is a deliberate invasion, one that grants citizenship and welfare to those who abuse our laws while we lose our country from within,” he wrote. “It has to end.”
The Pew Research Center found that about 9% of U.S. births in 2023 were to “unauthorized or temporary legal immigrant mothers.”
This equates to about 320,000 of the 3.6 million children born in the United States in 2023. The study found that under the changes proposed by President Trump through executive order, the vast majority of those birthrights, 260,000 people, would be ineligible for birthright citizenship. The legality of this order is being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Fuller said he plans to be a “MAGA warrior” on the campaign trail, taking a tough stance on immigration. In an April 16 post to X, Fuller said he was “not in D.C. to fight for foreigners” and “is here to fight for Northwest Georgia.”
This includes opposition to Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which is granted to foreign nationals who come to the United States to escape extreme situations such as war or natural disasters, and opposition to HR 4393 (the “DIGNADAD” Act), which provides a path to citizenship.
“Somalis were first given TPS in 1991 and Haitians received it in 2010. Don’t fall for the scam,” Fuller said in an April 17 post on X. “There’s nothing temporary about TPS, it’s just another word for amnesty. I vote not to extend it every time.”
Fuller continues to support Iran war
Greene has been a vocal opponent of military operations in Iran, but her successor has supported the president both before and after being elected to Congress.
Shortly after news of the strike in February, Fuller publicly supported the strike and called the late Ayatollah a “monster.”
“Bloodthirsty Ayatollah Khamenei, who caused countless deaths for the American people and our allies around the world, is finally dead. Rot in hell, you monster,” Fuller said in a post on X. “A huge thank you to President Trump for this victory. I pray that our military and the Iranian people will rise up and claim their freedom.”
When the soldiers’ deaths were reported the following weekend, Fuller said “the mission is not in vain” and that they were helping to stop “the evil of the Iranian regime.” He also likened the Obama administration’s Middle East policy to “cash pallet appeasement of an Islamic death cult only emboldened by evil.”
Now in Congress, after President Trump announced the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, Fuller called the Trump administration’s negotiations with Iranian officials “a feat of strong leadership.”
Fuller also shared an uncredited graph showing oil prices falling over the weekend.
“The Strait of Hormuz is open and oil prices are falling,” Fuller said in an April 17 post on X. “The signs are clear: President Trump’s economy is strong.”
Eileen Wright covers Georgia politics as an Atlanta Connect reporter for USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. X Find her at @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
