Tennessee: Corker backs Trump on Afghan speech. US Sen. Bob Corker (R), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement Monday night after President Trump’s speech on US policy in Afghanistan. “I support the direction President Trump laid out tonight for the U.S. role in Afghanistan… this more focused plan provides the U.S. military with the flexibility it needs to help the Afghan military regain momentum.” ……. Georgia: Deal considers black for Stone Mountain board. After it was pointed out that all ten members of the board that governs the monument on Stone Mountain are white, Gov. Nathan Deal (R) said he’d “certainly be open” to putting an African-American on the panel. Gubernatorial candidate state Rep. Stacey Abrams (D) said on CNN, “Confederate monuments have nothing to do with any of our American history except for treason and domestic terrorism,” and advocated sandblasting the sculptures of Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson from the mountain face, something Deal said he opposed, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ……. Florida: Nelson kinda/sorta neutral on monuments. At a speech to the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, US Sen. Bill Nelson (D), who is up for reelection next year, opined that he thought monuments should “signify unity instead of division.” But he also said whether monuments should be removed should be left “up to the good sense of the communities involved.” …….