Georgia water heater plant touts Trump’s push to ease energy standards

President Donald Trump marked his 100th day in office earlier this week, but the administration is still celebrating.

Today, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright will visit a manufacturing facility in Griffin to speak about “restoring energy leadership in the first 100 days of the Trump administration.”

The setting — Rinnai America Corporation — is one of Trump’s biggest boasts in the first few months of his term. The Japanese-owned company is the only U.S. manufacturer of non-condensing tankless water heaters, a product regulators had planned to ban by the end of the decade.

Non-condensing water heaters are less efficient than condensing water heaters because they don’t reuse the heat they generate. The Biden administration said the rule would have reduced harmful emissions of carbon dioxide by 32 million metric tons.

But Rinnai warned the rule would shutter its Georgia facility and eliminate hundreds of jobs. The Trump administration vowed to postpone the rule, and Congress passed a law earlier this month to overturn it — a measure pushed by Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Jack.

“The president and DOE Secretary Wright understand that consumers should be able to choose the appliance that they want and works best for them,” Rinnai President Frank Windsor said earlier this year.

Critics were skeptical of the job loss claim, pointing to the company’s most recent annual report where it said it was planning to develop its own condensing water heaters at the Griffin plant.

The water heater saga is just one part of the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back energy regulations put in place by the Biden administration. Earlier this week, Congress approved legislation from Georgia U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde rolling back some energy efficiency rules for dishwashers and other appliances.

Notably, Wright’s visit is the second by a member of Trump’s Cabinet to Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District in two weeks. Jack, a close Trump ally, brought Kelly Loeffler, head of the Small Business Administration, to LaGrange on April 17 to tour small businesses and host a roundtable with local leaders.

Things to know

Credit: AJC

Credit: AJC

Good morning! Gov. Brian Kemp has 12 days left to either sign or veto bills passed by the state Legislature this year. He’s signed 45 bills into law so far and hasn’t vetoed anything yet.

Here are three things to know for today:

Still got it

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Chancellor Sonny Perdue is busy leading the University System of Georgia these days. But he appears to still have pull with his former boss — President Donald Trump — as demonstrated earlier this week.

Our AJC colleague Drew Kann reported how Perdue sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum asking the Trump administration to support a bid to add the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to the United Nations’ World Heritage List. The Okefenokee was nominated by former President Joe Biden’s administration.

The way things have gone so far, you would think anything backed by Biden would be in trouble with Trump. But not this time. Kann’s story was just a few hours old when a spokesperson from the Department of the Interior confirmed the administration remains committed to Okefenokee’s bid.

Perdue’s power, of course, stems not only from his two terms as Georgia’s governor but also his time as Trump’s first agriculture secretary — a stint that lasted for the entirety of Trump’s first term.

Legal vows

Credit: Caleb Groves/AJC

Credit: Caleb Groves/AJC

Lawyers and state lawmakers gathered in the Atlanta City Hall Atrium on Thursday to reaffirm their oaths to uphold the U.S. and Georgia Constitutions, part of a National Law Day of Action protesting the Trump administration.

The event, sponsored by about half a dozen left-leaning civil rights organizations, comes after federal judges in several instances have said the Trump administration isn’t complying with court rulings.

President Donald Trump signed more executive orders during his first 100 days in office than any other president. But judges have partially or fully blocked Trump’s executive actions about 70 times, according to a tally by the Associated Press. The biggest battle is over immigration, where a federal judge has warned the administration it could be in contempt for not following his order.

Dozens of members of the state bar raised their right hands and recited the state oath of attorney, officiated by Atlanta Municipal Court Chief Judge Christopher E. Ward, the AJC’s Caleb Groves reports.

State Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, lamented that adherence to the rule of law at the federal level is an “open question.”

A time to vent

Credit: Michelle Baruchman/AJC

Credit: Michelle Baruchman/AJC

About 400 people gathered in a Woodstock church on Thursday to hear from Democratic state lawmakers and vent their fears and frustrations, the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman reports.

Question after question posed to the panel focused on what Democrats can do to stop the Trump administration, including “What are you doing to protect immigrants?” and “Will we ever have fair elections again?”

But answers from state Sens. Jason Esteves and Sonya Halpern of Atlanta, Josh McLaurin of Sandy Springs and state Rep. Lisa Campbell of Kennesaw were constrained by the reality of their positions. In both Congress and the Georgia Legislature, Democrats are in the minority and have little power or leverage to get their priorities passed.

“I know some of these answers may not be specific,” Halpern said, “but that’s because we’re still trying to negotiate some of these changes.”

Attendees said they felt energized by the passion in the room — something Cherokee County Democrats are hoping to use to make inroads with voters in upcoming elections.

‘New collar boom’

Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

The U.S. economy shrank 0.3% through the first three months of 2025, the first drop in three years as imports fell sharply amid uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Yet the Trump administration has so far stuck by the plan to impose steep taxes on imports, believing it will force companies to shift their supply chains to the U.S. and create countless new jobs.

Today, former Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler — who now leads the Small Business Administration — will visit the Effingham County College and Career Academy to highlight local workforce development initiatives that are training workers for these new jobs.

It’s part of her “Made in America Manufacturing Initiative” that she said is helping the country’s small businesses prepare for a “new collar boom.”

Gov. Brian Kemp and first lady Marty Kemp will also join the tour along with state Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro.

Listen up

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Pharmacy matters

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Georgia pharmacy owners were among a group in Washington this week to push for federal legislation that would limit the use of pharmacy benefit managers.

Insurance companies use PBMs to negotiate prices and say they help keep costs down for prescription drugs used by customers. But pharmacists have long complained that PBMs actually lead to higher prices.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, who has made an overhaul of PBM policies one of his key issues, met with the group. A pharmacist by trade, Carter has pledged to continue to work to get legislation passed that would regulate these providers.

“We can no longer stand by while PBMs take advantage of our prescription drug system, forcing patients to pay high costs and underpaying pharmacists, who provide critical care to all patients, especially seniors and those in rural areas,” he said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Today in Washington

Rest in peace

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Former Georgia state Rep. Ben L. Harbin was found dead at a hotel in Augusta this week. He was 61.

Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen said Harbin died of natural causes and foul play is not suspected, the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman reports.

Harbin was first elected in 1994 and spent the next two decades in the state House of Representatives. He rose to chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee after Republicans took over the chamber in the mid-2000s.

He resigned in 2015 to join Southern Strategy Group, a national lobbying firm. He was most recently a senior adviser for the BakerHostetler law firm.

“A dedicated public servant, he helped to balance our state budgets and maintain our AAA bond rating during the most difficult financial time in modern history — the Great Recession,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said.

Shoutouts

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Today’s birthdays:

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Before you go

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

State Rep. Scott Hilton, R-Peachtree Corners, shared a view of the state Capitol you’ve likely never seen before. Workers have removed the desks and ripped up the carpet as part of a monthslong renovation project.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can 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.