Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms names transition team

Well, Georgia's next governor has started laying the groundwork for her return to executive leadership. Today, Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms announced her transition team. Bottoms also tackled key challenges facing the state, including Medicaid expansion, reproductive rights, and budget priorities. Fox 5's Deidre Dukes at the state capitol with more tonight. Deidre? That's right. The governor unveiling her transition team just days after her historic win with a goal of being ready to govern come January. Our goal is simple, to be ready to govern on day one. Flanked by members of her new transition team, Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms is laying the groundwork for her administration. The team includes former Atlanta City official John King, former state senator Jason Carter, and longtime state lawmaker Calvin Smyre. Their job is to help Bottoms build her administration and prepare to govern in January. I'm looking forward to doing it. Whatever I can to make, to assist in being able to govern for day one. One of her top priorities is expanding Medicaid. Bottoms has also talked about getting rid of Georgia's current Pathways program. But questions remain about how to pay for expansion. We're going to do a deep dive on our budget and see what we can absorb. We've left $700 million on the table because we've not expanded Medicaid. So my understanding that once we do expand Medicaid, that 90% of that cost will be absorbed by the federal government because we're paying into the system. Bottoms also wants to change Georgia's six-week abortion ban, but admits it may not happen during the upcoming legislative session. She also acknowledged the state's shrinking budget surplus. I do know that that budget surplus is a lot less than it was when we launched our campaign. So we will take what's left and we will prioritize accordingly. Bottoms says Governor Brian Kemp has promised his cooperation during the transition. But Governor Kemp has said that he is going to make his staff available to help make this transition as smooth as possible. And Bottoms also telling us that more appointments will be announced in coming days. At the state capitol, Deidre Dukes, Fox 5 News. It'll be interesting to see.