GEORGIA – Tenth district Congressman Mike Collins is once again under fire for comments he made on social media.
Collins called out Rev. Mariann Budde, the bishop who delivered a sermon during the inaugural prayer service held for newly-elected President Donald Trump. Budde asked Trump and the various members of his team in attendance “for mercy” on a number of issues.
“In the name of our God, I ask you [President Trump] to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” Budde said. “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families. Some who fear for their lives. And the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants. Who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts who work in hospitals.
“They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.”
Later that afternoon, Collins took to the social media platform X to denounce Budde’s sermon, calling for her to be deported from the county.
“The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list,” Collins wrote.
Budde is a U.S. citizen who lives in New Jersey, according to multiple reports.
The Covington News reached out to Collins’ team for further context on the now-viral tweet. No further comment was provided as of press time.
Collins has been no stranger to controversy through social media comments in the past. In July, Collins posted on X that former President Joe Biden “sent the orders” in the first assassination attempt against Trump last summer. This drew criticism from both sides of the political aisle.
However, despite Collins’ social media activity, he has generated recent success in his political work.
Earlier this week, it was announced that the Collins-backed “Laken Riley Act” had passed 263-156 in the U.S. House of Representatives. The law is named after former nursing student Laken Riley, who was tragically murdered on the University of Georgia’s campus last February.
“The Laken Riley Act is named after the 22-year-old nursing student killed by an illegal immigrant on the University of Georgia’s campus in February 2024,” a press release stated. “The act gives local law enforcement and ICE the resources to detain and deport illegal immigrants arrested for shoplifting, assault against police officers, and crimes by illegal immigrants that result in death or serious bodily injury. This legislation also allows for states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for injunctive relief if immigration actions such as parole, violation of detention requirements, or other policy failures harm that state or its citizens.”
The act will now go to Trump’s desk, which is expected to be the first legislation that Trump will sign into law in his second term.
Collins was recently reelected for the tenth congressional district seat in November. This seat covers many counties across upper-east Georgia, including parts of Newton County.
