After Elon Musk, DOGE’s future could rest with Georgia-born Airbnb cofounder

Today’s newsletter highlights:

Immigration protests expand beyond Los Angeles.
State Senate committee to hold hearing on adoption rules.
Former sheriff says inmates urged him to run for Congress.

Georgia connection

One of the next leaders of President Donald Trump’s government downsizing effort could be a billionaire Gwinnett County native who co-founded Airbnb.

The New York Times reported that Joe Gebbia, a Brookwood High graduate, is at the center of speculation about an expanded role overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency now that Elon Musk is persona non grata in the Trump administration.

While Gebbia told colleagues he wasn’t interested in helming DOGE alone, the Times reported that the Musk ally could be involved in a collaborative effort.

“The current plan is for a small council of advisers, including Mr. Gebbia, to oversee DOGE, according to some of the people. The Airbnb co-founder has expressed interest in this broader leadership team,” the story said.

Gebbia declined to comment on the report, which noted he is already among the most visible supporters of the cost-cutting initiative.

The entrepreneur, whose father Joe Gebbia Sr. is a former Brookhaven city councilman, launched Airbnb with his roommate after a landlord hiked their San Francisco-area apartment rent by 25% in late 2007.

Now based in Texas, Gebbia stepped down from a full-time role at Airbnb in 2022 and focuses on other ventures, including his partial ownership of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.

Things to know

Good morning! We’re six days away from the primary election for the Public Service Commission.

Here are three things to know for today:

A Fulton County judge has disqualified Democrat Daniel Blackman from next week’s Public Service Commission election, the AJC’s Caleb Groves reports. Blackman could appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.
The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously ruled the State Election Board exceeded its authority by passing new voting rules last year, the AJC’s Mark Niesse reports.
The average wait time for 911 callers in Atlanta was just over six seconds last month, down from an average of 19 seconds in May 2023, the AJC’s Stephanie Lamm and Katherine Landergan report.

Information battle

Credit: Eric Thayer/AP

Credit: Eric Thayer/AP

President Donald Trump’s feud with California Gov. Gavin Newsom has spilled over into his Cabinet as the administration seeks to use its leverage to win the war of public opinion.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins on Tuesday said he was forced to close a VA clinic in Los Angeles because of “violent mobs.” Collins, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, posted on X that Newsom “has repeatedly put the interests of illegal immigrants and criminals above those of hard-working citizens, and now Los Angeles Veterans are paying the price.”

Newsom fired back that the U.S. troops Trump deployed to Southern California were sent without fuel, water or food.

“If anyone should be worried about disrespecting those that serve our nation, it should be you and your administration,” Newsom wrote on X.

The exchange highlights the vastly different pictures of what’s happening as both sides try to claim the moral high ground.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that “protests have mainly been peaceful and been confined to a roughly five-block stretch of downtown LA.”

No one has died, the report said. But “there’s been vandalism and some cars set on fire but no homes or buildings have burned. More than 100 people have been arrested over the past several days of protests. The vast majority of arrests were for failing to disperse, while a few others were for assault with a deadly weapon, looting, vandalism and attempted murder for tossing a Molotov cocktail.”

The protests have expanded across the country, including Atlanta. Last night, six people were arrested following an immigration protest along Buford Highway that ended with tear gas and fireworks hurled at police, the AJC’s Lautaro Grinspan and Caroline Silva report.

Other developments:

Republican attorneys general, including Georgia’s Chris Carr, said they “fully support” Trump’s decision to deploy in Los Angeles.
Kelly Loeffler, head of the Small Business Administration, called on Newsom to declare an economic disaster in Los Angeles so her agency could deliver aid to business owners.
Insurance Commissioner John King, a U.S. Senate candidate, told Newsmax that he believed Newsom has been “negligent.”

Correction

An item in yesterday’s newsletter misstated the timing of the state Senate Republican Caucus leadership elections. They will be held at the end of the month.

Campaign watch

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Last week, state Sen. John F. Kennedy entered the Georgia’s lieutenant governor’s race. Today, he’ll talk to voters in Macon about his role shepherding Gov. Brian Kemp’s top priority through the Legislature this year.

Kennedy, the president pro tempore of the state Senate, is scheduled to join the third stop of Greater Georgia’s statewide education tour this morning. It’ll be a home game for Kennedy, who works in Macon as an attorney when he’s not legislating.

The tour aims to educate voters about Kemp’s revamp of Georgia’s civil litigation rules. While Kemp was the driving force behind the bill, it was Kennedy who was the lead sponsor in the General Assembly.

Greater Georgia was founded by former Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who now leads the Small Business Administration as a member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet.

The tour highlights a major policy win for conservatives. But it also acts as a platform for state officials seeking higher office. The first stop included Insurance Commissioner John King, who is running for the U.S. Senate next year.

Adoption rules

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Georgia’s adoption advocates are worried about how the state is managing the placement of children across state lines. Today, some of them will put their concerns on the record during a rare offseason meeting of the Senate Committee on Family and Children.

Adoptions are handled by state governments. But things get complicated when more than one state is involved. For decades, every state plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands have abided by the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children.

Concerns about the compact operates in Georgia arose late in the legislative session, when committee chair Kay Kirkpatrick, R-Marietta, held a Zoom call with some adoption attorneys. But it was too late in the session to do anything.

That’s why Kirkpatrick scheduled today’s hearing to take testimony from advocates and state officials about how the compact works in Georgia and what, if anything, state lawmakers can do to improve it.

“We have a good adoption law and we want to make Georgia a very friendly state for adoptions and apparently there’s a perception now that that’s not the way it is,” Kirkpatrick said. “We just want to get to the bottom of it to see if we need to change anything, legally.”

Listen up

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Today on “Politically Georgia,” American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein joins the show to talk about the future of the U.S. Postal Service.

Then, the hosts discuss Insurance Commissioner John King’s assertion that Georgia U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock ignored his pleas for help during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

You can listen and subscribe to the show for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Inmates’ candidate

Credit: Screenshot

Former Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill said fellow inmates at the Forrest City Federal Correctional Institution in Arkansas urged him to run for Congress, saying they wanted him to be a “voice” for them.

Now he’s decided to do it, announcing during a YouTube livestream Tuesday night that he will challenge U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams in next year’s Democratic primary in Georgia’s 5th Congressional District. Hill spent 10 months in prison after being found guilty of violating jail detainees’ civil rights. He still is facing civil lawsuits related to those allegations.

Williams, who recently stepped down as chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, has been a member of Congress since 2021 after she won the seat left vacant by the death of Democratic U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

She was in a House committee meeting during Hill’s livestream and indicated afterward that she was unbothered by his announcement.

“It’s after midnight, I just left the House Financial Services Committee doing exactly what I’ve done since I was elected, fighting for the people!” Williams told us in a text message.

Today in Washington

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Happenings:

President Donald Trump will receive an intelligence briefing, lunch with Vice President JD Vance, participate in a ceremony for new ambassadors and attend opening night of “Les Miserables” at the Kennedy Center.
The House will vote on whether to advance Trump’s request to rescind $9.4 billion in previously approved federal spending for foreign aid, NPR and PBS.
The Senate will vote on more of Trump’s nominations.
U.S. Reps. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, and Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee, will join Team GOP for the annual charity Congressional Baseball Game tonight.

Play ball

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

U.S. Rep. Brian Jack’s first time chairing a U.S. House subcommittee hearing produced a festive celebration of America’s pastime that garnered bipartisan praise.

Jack’s Small Business Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development held a meeting Tuesday focused on the economic impact of minor league baseball. Joining him were the mascots of three teams, including the Columbus Clingstones, the Atlanta Braves’ AA team based in southwest Georgia.

Afterward, Jack hosted a reception that included hotdogs, Cracker Jack and baseballs signed by former players. Among them was U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, the chair of the Small Business Committee who played in the minors for the Braves in the 1970s.

Shoutouts

Today’s birthday:

Sarah Penkava, scheduler/digital media manager for U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia. A native of Tucker, she’s the daughter of former Tucker City Council member Michelle Penkava.

Transition:

Congrats to Maria Andrade and Jake Orvis, a husband-and-wife duo who launched First Edition Strategies, a communications firm that serves English and Spanish clients. The two have worked for a range of elected officials, including U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath and Nikema Williams. John Lee, a former McBath staffer, will join the firm, too.

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