by Ty Tagami | Dec 23, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — The year started with news about presidents past and present, as Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term and Georgia mourned the loss of Jimmy Carter.
The Trump administration implemented major changes to immigration and trade policy that reverberated across the country and in Georgia. Developments driven by technology companies also rocked the state, as the words “data center” came into common use.
The Peach State also made its own news, from a shooting at a military base to a split between a high-profile Republican and Trump and a surprising statewide election outcome that threatened the status quo.
Here is a look at the top Georgia stories of 2025.
Jan. 7: The celebration of the life of a native son and former president, Jimmy Carter, moved from Atlanta to the nation’s capital for a memorial service in the Capitol Rotunda.
Feb. 12: The state economist warned that Trump’s tariffs would probably drive up prices for Georgia consumers while suppressing exports.
March 21: The Georgia General Assembly passed Gov. Brian Kemp’s top priority — an overhaul of tort law to create a friendlier environment for insurance companies.
March 25: Lawmakers pushed back against big tech, passing a law that will prohibit student cellphone use in public elementary and middle schools starting next fall.
March 31: Reacting to the mass shooting at Apalachee High School last year, the legislature passed a sweeping school safety bill that sought to identify malevolent students before they could do harm and to bolster mental health services.
July 25: About 8,500 students secured approval to begin the school year in private schools, their tuition covered by a new state-funded voucher program that was expected to cost taxpayers $55 million.
July 28: State authorities announced an investigation of a company accused of operating a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors while funding Republican political campaigns. The announcement by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger followed the filing of a lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against First Liberty Building and Loan and its operator Edwin Brant Frost IV.
Aug. 6: Four soldiers and a civilian were shot by a gunman at the U.S. Army’s Fort Stewart near Savannah. All survived and a sergeant was charged with attempted murder
Aug. 25: Kemp announced his decision to deploy about 75 military members across the state to aid U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Sept. 4: Federal agents detained 475 workers at Hyundai’s electric vehicle battery plant near Savannah, most of them Korean nationals, causing friction with the South Korean government.
Sept. 5: Kemp announced plans to send 316 members of the Georgia National Guard to Washington, D.C. to support Trump’s use of troops to patrol the nation’s capital.
Nov. 4: Republicans felt a chill as voters soundly defeated two GOP incumbents on the Public Service Commission, choosing two Democrats instead. The monopoly regulator had raised electricity rates several times, leading to a backlash that pushed “affordability” to the top of the political agenda.
Nov. 21: U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Rome Republican who forged a political brand as a staunch ally of Trump, solidified her break with the president by announcing her resignation a year early, in January. She disagreed with Trump on several issues, including artificial intelligence, military action overseas and release of the federal files concerning deceased sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein.
Nov. 26: A Fulton County judge granted dismissal of the criminal election conspiracy charges against Trump and his remaining co-defendants after a prosecutor took the case from District Attorney Fani Willis when the courts sidelined her over ethical concerns.
Dec. 19: The state Public Service Commission, with less than two weeks to go in the terms of two Republicans ousted by voters in November, granted a controversial expansion of electrical generation capacity for Georgia Power. The monopoly secured approval to build five gas-powered plants while sourcing other power to supply speculative demand by future data centers. The expansion raised concerns about the environmental impact of burning more fossil fuel and the cost to current customers if the nearly 10 gigawatts in new capacity proved unnecessary.
