Georgia’s governor says he's withdrawing a request for an emergency hearing in a lawsuit that aims to block the state’s largest city from ordering people to wear masks in public or imposing other restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A spokesman for Gov. Brian Kemp announced late Monday that the Republican wanted “to continue productive, good faith negotiations” with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the City Council. A hearing on Kemp's request had been scheduled Tuesday before a state court judge. The Republican governor argues local leaders cannot impose measures that are more or less restrictive than those in his executive orders.