(JUNE 9, 2025) — Cherokee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Harry Johnston had the opportunity last week to visit Washington, D.C. with a group of county and state leaders.

Johnston received a personal invitation from the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to attend the White House State Leadership Conference. The Association County Commissioners of Georgia served as an intermediary between the White House and local county leaders to organize the 60 local leaders to attend the event.

The group met June 3 in the Indian Treaty Room of the Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House to hear from a dozen senior administration officials during the four-hour event.

“It was exciting and informative to meet with these senior White House officials, to hear their priorities, and to be able to discuss our state and local issues with them.  They were interested and responsive.  We were all grateful for the opportunity, and I was proud to be part of it.”

With limited time and a lengthy agenda, the majority of the event focused on senior administration sharing what is happening in their areas of focus.

Federal officials spoke about plans to deliver affordable housing, restructuring the VA, law and order, mental health, Medicaid reform, and small business initiatives, among other topics. Federal officials who took part in the meeting included: Scott Turner, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; Doug Collins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Brandon Beach, U.S. Treasurer; Scott Centorino, Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy; James Blair, White House Deputy Chief of Staff; Bryan Kellogg, Department of Energy; Greg Wischer, Department of the Interior; John Eunice, EPA Director; Robin Cloud, Department of Commerce; Bethany Hudson, Department of Defense; Kelly Loeffler, SBA Administrator; and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health & Human Services.

Members of the group of local officials posed several questions and/or comments about proposed changes to FEMA and the funding of disaster assistance and how that could affect local response, recovery and mitigation. Some of the comments centered around both FEMA and SBA assistance to those affected by Hurricane Helene.

Investor-owned homes and affordable housing were topics of concern posed to the senior administration members. Several shared how Georgia is “ground zero” for investor-owned home, making homeownership more expensive and out of reach for many Georgians.

Other topics included construction of data centers, and the local group indicated they would be interested to hear from the Department of Energy about the administration’s proposals to boost energy production, including large-scale solar projects.

Beach indicated he’d like to see federal road funding converted to block grants with no strings attached, and related to tariffs, the group expressed interest in hearing from the Department of Commerce about how tariffs are expected to affect Georgia’s two major ports in Savannah and Brunswick.

ACCG staff also attended, including Executive Director Dave Wills, Deputy Director Clint Mueller, and Director of County Consulting Services Bill Twomey. ACCG President and Dougherty County Commissioner Clinton Johnson also attended on behalf of ACCG.

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Media Contact
Erika Neldner | Communications Director
678-493-6015
ebneldner@cherokeecountyga.gov