Coverage from this week
Stories from Virginia politics.
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Youngkin vetoes 48 bills
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday night that he took action on bills still on his desk. He vetoed 48 and signed seven into law.
House Democrats responded to the vetoes:
“We are disappointed, but not surprised by the actions of the Governor. The House Democrats did our part and protected access to reproductive healthcare in Virginia. With the veto of HB 609 to expand access to contraception – the Governor has shown Virginians where he and his party stand – and they do not stand for a woman’s right to control her own body.
“After years of ducking and avoiding claiming support of the Confederacy and the Lost Cause narrative, Governor Youngkin finally showed his true colors. In vetoing HB 568 we know that he would rather protect groups who honor those who fought to keep people enslaved by maintaining their tax-exempt status, than take part in supporting Virginia’s healing and recovery from that legacy.
“This is not the end for us, and we will see these bills return until they are signed. The right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness is dependent on individuals’ autonomy and self-determination, and they should be able to make those decisions in communities that celebrate the contributions of all members of society, rather than those who would continue to stand on the neck of our freedoms.”
A Democratic congressional candidate represented Kessler ahead of Unite the Right rally; says First Amendment right should always be defended — even if you disagree on principle
In Virginia’s first congressional district, Democratic candidate Leslie Mehta is facing criticism for representing Jason Kessler during his effort to hold the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. The events that unfolded that day resulted in the death of Heather Heyer after a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of people who were counter-protesting the rally. Two state police officers also died after their helicopter crashed while monitoring the events.
Mehta says that while Kessler and his group represent everything she stands against, the First Amendment rights of Americans should always be defended when they are being used peacefully, as the organizers said would happen in court documents. Her primary opponent’s campaign says they are worried that Republicans will use this against her in the general election if she earns the nomination.
Mehta was employed by the ACLU during the 2017 court case and is listed as one of two attorneys in Kessler’s case.
“I know that freedom of speech, and freedom to protest peacefully and freedom to assemble peacefully – they have to mean something if they are to be protected – even when it's people who are reprehensible and are completely against the values that I share,” Mehta said in an interview with Virginia Scope.
Wexton endorsed in VA-10 as many Democrats run for her spot
Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-VA10, announced her support for one of the many Democrats running to fill her seat when her term ends later this year.
She is endorsing state Sen. Suhas Subramanyam for the Democratic nomination.
“When I first ran for Congress, I did so with our community in mind,” Wexton said with her announcement. “I’m proud to have worked with Democrats and Republicans to deliver for Virginia’s kids and families. Although I was not planning to retire so soon, life had other ideas. When I think about who will best continue my legacy of getting things done for Northern Virginians, I can think of no one who will do so better than State Senator Suhas Subramanyam. I believe Suhas is the leader for the future of the 10th District. He is a hardworking, principled, and effective legislator who has a long commitment to service, and is rooted right here in the heart of the district. From fighting for abortion rights and gun violence prevention to protecting our democracy, he has always taken on the tough battles in Richmond and won. I enthusiastically endorse Suhas for Congress, and I hope that he will earn your vote as well on or before June 18.”
The budget has been signed
Lawmakers agreed on a budget, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed it on Monday.
The budget passed 94-6 in the House of Delegates and 39-1 in the Senate, with Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland, the lone nay vote. He is currently in a competitive primary race against Rep. Bob Good, R-VA05.
The deal prevented a potential government shutdown this summer, with lawmakers and Youngkin at odds over what should be prioritized. Democrats wanted more spending, while Youngkin wanted more tax cuts.
In the end, Democrats say they were able to include their priorities while avoiding any tax cuts.
Youngkin was unhappy about the lack of tax cuts, but he praised that there were no tax increases.
McGuire rides with Trump to court
A source associated with state Sen. John McGuire’s congressional campaign confirmed to Virginia Scope that he rode in Donald Trump’s motorcade to show support for the former president during his criminal court case in New York Thursday.
McGuire is running a primary campaign against Rep. Bob Good, R-VA05, who is also in New York to show support for Trump.
Despite his efforts in recent months to cozy up to Trump, Good is struggling and being painted as the “anti-MAGA” candidate after he endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary.
Miyares announces new leadership appointments to the Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Jason Miyares announced new appointments to his office Friday. They go into effect on June 1.
Chase has her day in court
Former state Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, was in court Monday for an assault and battery charge after an altercation earlier this year at a local GOP event.
Chesterfield Republicans met in March to select new committee leaders, but a confrontation involving Chase became the main attraction.
Chase was charged with assault and battery after a confrontation with Adaire Lazaro outside of the meeting.
Lazaro is the roommate of Shane Snavley, a former employee of Chase who has spent the last year releasing damning information about her to the public.
In a video filmed by Lazaro, Chase is talking to Republicans waiting in line to vote. When Chase spots Lazaro filming her, she turns and tells her to stop.
Washington Post endorses in VA-07 and VA-10
The Washington Post announced their endorsements in two Northern Virginia Congressional districts Wednesday night.
They chose who they believe are the best candidates on both sides of the aisle in VA-07 and VA-10.
In VA-10, the editorial board did not agree with the incumbent on who they believe is the best candidate for the Democratic nomination.
Atif Qarni AMA
Former Secretary of Education Atif Qarni is running for the Democratic nomination in VA-10. He participated in an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit this morning.
Qarni served as the Secretary of Education for Gov. Ralph Northam.
Below of some of the highlights from his AMA:
Question: “I've been wondering if you can talk about your experience as VA Secretary of Education a bit. Can you talk about the policies that are the highlights of your time there and how you formed them? I don't know how the policies that the office creates are then sent to the GA. How does that work?”
Answer: “That's a great question. I served as VA Sec. of Education from Jan. 2018 to Dec. 2021. There is a pretty nuanced process on how budgets and policies get implemented i.e. legislation, executive orders, guidelines, etc. My oversight was over public PK-12 schools, community colleges, and four year public universities. Some signature initiatives I led on included: the largest expansion ever for public pre-K, 15% salary increase for teachers, record funding to hire more school counselors, largest increase ever in financial aid for college students, establishing a tuition free community college, largest investments ever in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Generally a lot of these initiatives are introduced in various task forces or commissions, and then they grow legs in the offices of policymakers like cabinet Secretaries which reside in the executive branch. As a next step, we then work with specific legislative members to sponsor bills to make certain items into law and get them in VA code. After that, there's a final review in the Executive branch to see if any amendments are needed, and after deliberating between the two branches, the policy initiative gets passed. Hope this was helpful.”
Spanberger sent a letter to the postmaster complaining about mail delivery issues
Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-VA07, sent a letter to Postmaster Louis DeJoy regarding concerns raised by her constituents in a recent survey. The Richmond Regional Processing and Distribution Center in Sandston, Virginia, has been plagued with disruptions and delays since opening last summer.
Spanberger, Sens. Tim Kaine, Mark Warner and other Virginia lawmakers sent a letter to DeJoy in March expressing concerns about mail issues.
The Sandston Center is one of the first of its kind in the country. Its goal is to centralize outgoing mail and packaging.
In the new letter to DeJoy, Spanberger relayed the concerns from her constituents.
There will not be a presidential debate at VSU
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to two debates ahead of the presidential election. Neither will take place at Virginia State University, which was supposed to be the first general election presidential debate to ever take place at an HBCU.
In November, the Commission on Debates announced that one of the general election debates would occur at VSU.
However, news moved quickly on Wednesday morning when both Biden and Trump announced they not participate in the commission’s planned debates and instead attend two debates — one in June and one in September.
“I’ve received and accepted an invitation from CNN for a debate on June 27th. Over to you, Donald. As you said: anywhere, any time, any place,” Biden posted on social media.
He then announced a second debate shortly after: “I've also received and accepted an invitation to a debate hosted by ABC on Tuesday, September 10th. Trump says he’ll arrange his own transportation. I’ll bring my plane, too. I plan on keeping it for another four years.”
Trump announced that he agreed to both debates within minutes.
In a letter to the debate commission, the Biden campaign pointed out that their proposed dates for debates would take place after millions of people have already voted.
Biden’s campaign chair, Jen Brigid O'Malley Dillon, wrote that the debates would "begin after the American people have a chance to cast their vote early, and doesn’t conclude until after tens of millions of Americans will have already voted."
O’Malley Dillon then wrote out the reasoning behind the June and September dates chosen.
"We believe the first debate should be in late June, after Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial is likely to be over and after President Biden returns from meeting with world leaders at the G7 Summit," she wrote.
"A second presidential debate should be held in early September at the start of the fall campaign season, early enough to influence early voting, but not so late as to require the candidates to leave the campaign trail in the critical late September and October period," she continued.
The VSU debate was scheduled for Oct. 1.
Virginia’s United States Senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both called on Biden and Trump to find a way to hold the debate at VSU.
“Virginia State made history as the first HBCU to ever be selected to hold a presidential debate,” Warner wrote on X. “Biden and Trump should stick to the plan and head to Virginia for a debate.”
“Now that Biden and Trump are discussing debates, one thing is clear,” Kaine wrote. “The first ever Presidential debate at an HBCU, Virginia State University, should go forward as planned.”