How Georgians are shaping Donald Trump’s overhaul of the federal workforce

On Sunday, The New York Times reported that mass layoffs at the Department of Veterans Affairs have disrupted everything from clinical trials for veterans with cancer to a local facility’s ability to answer incoming phone calls.

The agency, now run by former Georgia U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, has fired about 2,400 employees so far. But Collins, a close Trump ally, has said he plans to lay off a total of 80,000 people at the agency. That has veterans groups warning that the cuts will come at a cost to care, the Times reports.

Collins has said “mission-critical” roles at the VA will not be affected by layoffs, but added, “we will be making major changes, so get used to it.”

Another Trump cabinet member — former Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler — made news of her own last week. The head of the Small Business Administration said she plans to relocate offices now in six “sanctuary cities,” including Atlanta. That’s despite the fact that all of Georgia is covered by a state law banning sanctuary cities.

Loeffler told Fox 5 Atlanta in an interview last week the offices will move because, “In a sanctuary city, you don’t know if they’re going to have your back as an American citizen.”

She did not say where the SBA offices would relocate. Her husband Jeff Sprecher’s multibillion dollar company, Intercontinental Exchange, is headquartered in Atlanta and New York.

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GOOD MORNING! It’s budget day in the Georgia House of Representatives, as lawmakers are scheduled to reveal their version of the next 2026 budget — informally known as the “big budget” — starting at 9 a.m.

Here are three other things to know for today:

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Credit: Greg Bluestein/AJC

Credit: Greg Bluestein/AJC

NEW FAME. Ginny Lim didn’t set out to be an Internet sensation. But after she confronted U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick at his Roswell town hall last month, the lifelong Democrat is embracing her newfound fame.

The video of Lim challenging the Suwanee Republican to “rein in the megalomaniac in the White House” racked up millions of views, thanks in part to Lim’s commanding Southern accent and self-proclaimed ties to Patrick Henry.

Scores of TikTok users recorded their own versions of Lim’s speech, comparing her to Julia Sugarbaker, the sharp-tongued businesswoman in the 1980s sitcom “Designing Women” that was set in Atlanta.

Lim has now launched her own TikTok page and is a sought after speaker at local Democratic events. She told us she never expected all the attention, but she’s taking it as “the highest compliment you can get.”

“I’m not a politician. I’m not running for any office. I don’t want my family to go through any Republican meat grinder,” she said. “But I come from such a long line of patriots, I can’t stay silent.”

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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

TORT PUSHBACK. As Gov. Brian Kemp’s litigation overhaul nears a House vote, it’s facing pushback from an unexpected source: Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The group sent a letter to lawmakers warning that the measure “curbs the rights of victims of drunk driving” by overhauling how juries award medical damages.

The bill “could leave victims and their families struggling with uncovered medical expenses — costs that should be paid by those responsible and not shifted to victims of drunk driving,” wrote Larry Coggins Jr., the group’s Georgia director.

Kemp fired off his own letter in response, saying the organization was misled by a “concerted propaganda campaign that has abused the trust and goodwill of well-intentioned advocacy groups.”

He wrote that nothing in the proposal “prevents a plaintiff from telling a jury the extent of their pain and suffering. The only change SB 68 makes is to limit attorneys from both sides from manipulating the jury’s evaluation of such damages.”

The letter is yet another sign of how deeply involved the governor is in pushing the measure’s passage as he works to rally Republican lawmakers behind his top legislative priority days after Democrats voted in their closed-door caucus meeting to stand against the proposal.

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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

RETHINKING COVID-19 TESTING. The coronavirus emergency may be over but it still lives on in Georgia law. The state code is full of references to COVID-19 five years after an outbreak forced the temporary closure of many businesses and schools.

Now, state lawmakers are slowly moving to repeal some of those pandemic-era laws. But a bill this year to get rid of a COVID-19 testing requirement for long-term care facilities has prompted some debate.

Georgia, like most states, passed a law requiring testing for residents and staff of these facilities because statistics showed older age groups have the highest fatality rates from the disease.

But most facilities don’t do this testing anymore, and the state has stopped enforcing it, according to state Rep. John LaHood, a Republican from Valdosta and the author of the bill.

“It’s no longer a glaring issue like it used to be,” LaHood said. “This is just returning to normalcy.”

Others see this as a chicken-or-the-egg type question. State Rep. Lisa Cambell, a Democrat from Kennesaw, noted COVID-19 testing data is not as readily available as it once was, making it difficult to track outbreaks. That’s a problem for older populations.

“Testing is even more important and more critical than it had been in the past,” she said. “I feel very uncomfortable with the idea of removing this cost-effective, proven methodology for preventing the spread of a disease that for this population is extremely dangerous.”

The bill was one of dozens to pass the House last week before a key legislative deadline.

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Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

UNDER THE GOLD DOME. It’s the 29th day of the legislative session. Some of today’s happenings:

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Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

COUNTDOWN TO SHUTDOWN. Funding for federal agencies runs out at midnight on Friday, but House Republicans have proposed a plan to avoid a government shutdown.

The continuing resolution mostly keeps funding levels flat through the end of the fiscal year in September, with a small bump in defense spending and a reduction in non-defense spending. It would also give the White House more flexibility in determining how money is spent.

President Donald Trump quickly endorsed the plan in a social media post Saturday, saying it avoids a shutdown and buys time for Republicans to work on other legislation containing his priorities.

“All Republicans should vote (Please!) YES next week,” he wrote. “Great things are coming for America, and I am asking you all to give us a few months to get us through to September so we can continue to put the Country’s ‘financial house’ in order.”

House Democratic leaders are encouraging their members to oppose the legislation, saying the cuts in non-defense spending will negatively affect popular programs while opening up the possibility for Trump to slash spending even further.

But the bill can pass in the House if Republicans stay unified. The question ahead of an expected midweek vote is whether hard-right conservatives who dislike stopgap continuing resolutions on principle will support this one because of Trump’s endorsement.

Even if that happens, the legislation has a tough road in the Senate because of the filibuster. Even if all Republicans support it, it still needs seven Democrats to also vote yes. But the first test will be in the House.

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Credit: Jose Luis Magana/AP

Credit: Jose Luis Magana/AP

TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

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Credit: Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

Credit: Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

REMOVING BLM PLAZA. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has announced plans to remove the “Black Lives Matter” lettering in a street leading up to the White House amid pressure from a lawmaker from Georgia.

U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, recently introduced legislation that would withhold federal funding to the city unless the two-block portion of 16th Street was cleared of references to the Black Lives Matter movement and renamed Liberty Plaza.

Bowser has also been working on her relationship with President Donald Trump, meeting with him privately amid numerous threats from conservatives to have the federal government exert more control over the nation’s Democratic-controlled capital city on everything from policing to its home rule charter.

Bowser announced last week that the city had bigger fish to fry than battling with Republicans about the yellow letters spelling out Black Lives Matter in the street. She said the plaza would undergo an evolution that includes new murals around the city in anticipation of America’s 250th birthday next year.

“The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a very painful period, but now we can’t afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference,” Bowser wrote in a statement. “The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern. Our focus is on economic growth, public safety, and supporting our residents affected by these cuts.”

The mural was created in 2020 after activists protesting the death of George Floyd repeatedly spray painted the phrase on the street. But it could be dismantled as soon as this week.

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Credit: AJC file photo

Credit: AJC file photo

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AS ALWAYS, send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.