Friends,
It’s been another chaotic week as the Trump administration has continued to take a wrecking ball to the rule of order and the U.S. Constitution. One thing is more clear than ever: there has never been a more important time to get engaged with the workings of your government.
Thank you for following the work of our office, where we aim to keep you all informed so we can fight the good fight together.
Let’s dive in.
CHAOS CONTINUES UNDER TRUMP/MUSK RULE
Where…to begin.
Kristen Norman/For The Washington Post
Thousands of federal government employees have been terminated as the White House and its “Department” of Government Efficiency (DOGE) fire workers and freeze trillions of dollars in federal grant funds.
Per Elon Musk and President Trump, we can expect that this is just the start.
Of the 2.4 million members of the civilian federal workforce, more than 80% live outside the Washington area, and 71,739 live and work in Georgia across all agencies.
Here are the number of federal employees in each of Georgia’s Congressional districts. (The column furthest to the right is the estimated number of employees per district.)
Federal Employees in each Congressional District
(Source: National Treasury Employees Union)
To be clear, no one, including me, would argue against the government becoming more efficient. No one is arguing against curtailing the “waste, fraud and abuse,” Elon Musk invokes.
The problem is that no one at DOGE or the Trump administration has been able to demonstrate where this waste is, whether the positions and responsibilities of those terminated are essential, and how these terminations serve the goal of “increasing efficiency.”
Alex Brandon / Associated Press
Meanwhile, we have seen widespread layoffs across all levels of the federal government, including at:
- The Department of Veterans Affairs
- The Defense Department
- The Education Department
- The Energy Department
- The Department of Health and Human Services
- The Department of Homeland Security
- The Internal Revenue Service (cutting thousands of workers in the middle of tax season, which actually brings revenue into the government budget)
- The National Park Service
- The National Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- The Agriculture Department (note Agriculture is Georgia’s #1 industry)
- The Department of Justice, and
- The State Department
Predictably, these rushed, indiscriminate, poorly considered actions created some problems.
Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press
NBC News
Drew Angerer / The New York Times
Derek Davis / Portland Portland Press Herald, via Getty Images
Most remarkable to me has been the incredible passivity of Congressional Republicans, who have been all too eager to cede their Constitutionally granted power and now find themselves in the position of groveling to the president for money they themselves appropriated for their districts.
Caroline Gutman / The Washington Post
(Click here to read full article)
This power dynamic between two ostensibly co-equal branches of government is, of course, exactly what Trump wants, as he builds a system of favors, rewards, and punishment in pursuit of absolute, unchecked power.
Meanwhile, closer to home, Trump’s firings seem to elicit little more than a shrug emoji from Georgia’s top executive.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In response to the Trump administration’s mass layoff as the Atlanta-based CDC, Governor Kemp responded that “government can stand a little right-sizing” and minimized the human toll of these massive job losses in his own state.
I’m certain if there were ever to be a job program bringing upwards of 1000 jobs to Georgia, he’d be more than happy to take credit for it. But job losses on an equivalent scale, striking at the crown jewel of the nation’s public health system, barely warranted a response.
This Friday I was proud to join my friend and colleague Rep. Saira Draper for a public briefing and demonstration joined by supporters from Georgia’s large public health community.
Arvin Temkar / Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The AJC’s Ariel Hart writes:
“There is nothing right about the lack of strategy with which these layoffs are being done and the dysfunction that it is causing,” Draper said, calling it unnecessarily cruel, chaotic and reckless.
“If there is a desire to streamline government,” she said, calling on the state’s leadership to protest the administration’s tactics, “insist that it is done in a way that is respectful to the critical functions of these agencies and that it treats Georgians with the dignity that they deserve.”
HONORING JOHN AND KAY SUTTLES
It was a profound privilege to be able to honor my constituents John and Kay Suttles with an invite resolution (HR 237) in the Georgia House this week.
On March 7, 1965, when he was just 16 years old, John joined hundreds of civil rights leaders marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. “Bloody Sunday” became a defining event in the modern civil rights movement, culminating in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
In my brief remarks, introducing Mr. Suttles, I noted:
“I remember talking to Mr. Suttles the first time I met him, and something he said really stuck with me.
He mentioned how worried his mom had been on that day in 1965. Just as any mom would be, scared that her baby would get hurt. And I think that resonates with every parent in this room. The ways we want to protect our child, even as we trust them, and even as we believe in the righteous causes they commit themselves to.
And it reminds me how, sometimes, our children teach us to be brave.”
Today John and Kay are active members of our community, and have committed themselves to education as they speak to high school students in the importance of public service, civic engagement, and voting rights.
Thank you for all you do, and continue to do, for the future of this state.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Crossover Day is the first major milestone of the legislative session, the last day by which a bill must pass out of its originating chamber to progress in the process to becoming law. This year, Crossover Day is March 6th.
Each year, Team Au hosts a Pre-Crossover Day Town Hall, where I discuss how the state’s top legislative priorities are shaping up, what bills are up for a vote, and give some background on what (and who) to watch during one of the most anticipated days of the session.
I hope you can join us this year!
HD 50 PRE-CROSSOVER DAY TOWN HALL
Sunday, March 2nd, 3:00 – 5:00pm
Divine Coffee
7725 McGinnis Ferry Road
TEAM AU IN ACTION
MOMS DEMAND ACTION DAY AT THE CAPITOL
Honored to join so many friends from Moms Demand Action during the day at the Capitol!
We would quite never be able to make the progress we have seen on gun violence prevention here in Georgia without the tireless commitment of our community volunteers and organizers. Hopefully, with your help, HB 1, the Pediatric Health Safe Storage Act, will get the hearing a committee vote it deserves by Crossover Day. It’s hard, brutal work, and I can think of no better team to work with than all of you.
Want to help advocate for HB 1? Check out our legislative toolkit here!
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TEAM AU STUDENTS IN ACTION
Here at Team Au we are so lucky to have so many students connected to our office, and we got to work with many, many of them this week! From high school students working on gun safety, HD 50 students volunteering as House Pages, college and post bac students interested in health policy, and even our youngest students seeking to build a safer future, we see mentorship as an important part of our mission and are thrilled to help train future leaders!
Are you a student interested in connecting with our office, or just want to come visit the Capitol? Email [email protected]!
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CONNECTING FRIENDS AT NACA’S LUNAR NEW YEAR
The National Association of Chinese Americans (NACA) has long been a powerhouse in building AAPI political power here in Georgia, and this weekend I was so pleased to see friends at their Lunar New Year celebration near HD 50!
I was especially pleased that I could make an introduction, Senator Raphael Warnock and our friends at the Chien Hong School of Kung Fu, who honored us by performing at our Lunar New Year at the Capitol!
Everyone had a wonderful time celebrating the Year of the Snake! Thank you to all our friends for supporting NACA and Georgia’s growing AAPI community! 新年快乐!
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It has never been more important to pay attention to the work of state legislatures. Thank you as ever for your support so that we can keep doing this most important work together.
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to our office should you need any assistance, or if you have any concerns you’d like me to address on your behalf.
It is my honor to be your voice in the Georgia House of Representatives.
In service,
