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  • Va. lawmakers’ rejections leave vacancies on three higher ed governing boards – WTOP News

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    Virginia lawmakers rejected 14 nominations by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin at three institutions: Richard Bland College, VCU and Old Dominion University.

    This article was reprinted with permission from Virginia Mercury. 

    President Debbie L. Sydow and her team at Richard Bland College had operated for years without a governing board until last year, when the school gained independence from its parent university, William & Mary.

    So when state legislators recently rejected all nine governing board nominations at Richard Bland, Sydow assured the public that the institution remains on “solid footing” with an experienced leadership team.

    “While the General Assembly’s recent decision regarding the prior slate of Board of Visitors appointees creates a temporary gap in formal governance, our day‑to‑day operations, strategic initiatives, and student‑centered mission continue without interruption,” said Sydow in a statement to the Mercury.

    She said the institution is “optimistic” and “encouraged” over Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s forthcoming appointments, “individuals we expect will bring a strong commitment to higher education, diverse experience, and a shared belief in the vital role Richard Bland College plays in the Tri-Cities region and the Commonwealth.”

    Last year, the state legislature passed a measure that triggered the development of Richard Bland’s first governing board.

    In total, lawmakers rejected 14 nominations by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin at three institutions in the Commonwealth this month: Richard Bland College, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Old Dominion University.

    None of the rejections at VCU and Old Dominion prevented their respective boards from maintaining a quorum. Spanberger backfilled significant vacancies at George Mason University, the University of Virginia and Virginia Military Institute, appointing 27 in January.

    Virginia governors are responsible for nominating members, but their decisions must be confirmed or rejected by the General Assembly. Over the past year, the process was called into question after the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee rejected 22 nominations made by Youngkin, whose administration unsuccessfully challenged the decision.

    Outside of the nominations for Virginia colleges, lawmakers over the current session have rejected 89 nominees to Virginia’s boards and commissions, including two for the Board of Education.

    Others were blocked from the State Air Pollution Control Board and the Boards of Juvenile Justice and Fair Housing, as well as the African American and Asian Advisory Boards.

    Potential changes

    The nomination process for governing boards at Virginia’s colleges and universities remains under review by state lawmakers and Spanberger’s administration, a process which started immediately upon the governor taking office in January.

    Lawmakers are now considering two bills that would revise membership and governance requirements for governing boards of public higher education institutions. They appear to be on track to clear the legislature.

    Senate Bill 494, carried by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, would increase each member’s terms from four years to six, prohibit consecutive terms and require a two-year gap, and add nonvoting advisory members from faculty, staff and student bodies.

    The bill also clarifies the terms “quorum,” “executive committee,” “primary duties” and “restrictions” of governing boards. Boards would also be required to adopt policies for shared governance, which a work group created by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia will develop, fostering more voices in decision-making.

    SCHEV will also be responsible for creating a work group and recommending processes for Attorney General reviews of legal representation for institutions and recusal policies for board members with conflicts of interest.

    According to the bill’s fiscal impact statement, the cost of the proposed changes are expected to be absorbed within existing resources by both institutions and SCHEV.

    Del. Lily Franklin, D-Montgomery, is carrying similar legislation in the House of Delegates, which includes proposals from Democratic Dels. Katrina Callsen and Amy Laufer, representing Albemarle.

    On Jan. 17, Spanberger issued an executive order directing her cabinet members to prepare a report detailing the procedures for board nominations at Virginia’s public higher education institutions, including member term lengths, reappointments, term start dates for new members, and the evaluation process used by the Virginia Commission on Higher Education Board Appointments.

    What’s next

    Sydow said she’s confident Richard Bland’s governing board will be in place by the next April 22 board meeting, based on conversations with the governor’s office and elected representatives.

    Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander will replace Sydow in May when she steps down after 14 years at Richard Bland. Alexander has served as vice chancellor for strategic partnerships of the Virginia Community College System and as executive director of the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education.

    Lawmakers will have until the weekend of March 14 to advance or kill any legislation before it heads to Spanberger for consideration.

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  • State of the Union 2026: Fact-checks of Democrats’ responses

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    In a move that reflected the party’s divisions, Democrats offered a range of responses to President Donald Trump’s Feb. 24 State of the Union address. 

    Some skipped Trump’s speech or attended alternate events. Others spoke out in opposition to Trump’s words.

    Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivered the party’s official response, emphasizing the burden of rising costs on American families and safety concerns about federal immigration enforcement.  

    Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was escorted from the chambers after holding up a large sign that said, “Black people aren’t apes,” referencing a video Trump recently posted on Truth Social depicting President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. Green was similarly removed during Trump’s 2025 address to Congress after protesting the president’s speech.

    At another point, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., shouted at Trump, accusing him of killing Americans, referring to the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in her state, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal immigration agents.

    Several other lawmakers wore pins that read “release the files” in reference to documents related to the late sex-offender Jeffery Epstein. 

    Many Democrats attended events organized by liberal groups elsewhere in Washington, D.C. 

    The advocacy group MoveOn and left-leaning media outlet MeidasTouch planned a rally they dubbed the “People’s State of the Union.” Gathered on the National Mall, attendees spoke about immigration policy and the Epstein files. Several senators and U.S. representatives spoke.

    Pro-democracy, anti-Trump advocacy group Defiance.org hosted another event, with speakers including lawmakers and mayors whose cities have been targets of Trump’s immigration crackdowns. The event was dubbed the “State of the Swamp,” and many guests sported frog-themed hats and headbands — a reference to the peaceful protest movement known as the Portland Frog Brigade, members of whom were in attendance. 

    We fact-checked some of the Democrats’ Feb. 24 remarks.

    Spanberger: Trump’s policies “have forced American families to pay more than $1,700 each in tariff costs.” 

    Estimates vary, but research supports this number. 

    Spanberger’s office pointed to research from the Democrats on Congress’ Joint Economic Committee, which estimated that the average U.S. household has paid about $1,745 in tariff costs from February 2025 to January. 

    Other groups estimated lower tariff burdens, from $1,000 per household to $1,230 per household. 

    One group’s figure was higher than Spanberger’s: In August, the National Taxpayers’ Union estimated that tariffs added $2,048 to U.S. households’ tax burden.

    Spanberger: “Rural health clinics in Virginia and across the country are already closing their doors” because of Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

    This is accurate.

    On Sept. 4, 2025, two months after Trump signed the bill into law, Virginia health care company Augusta Medical Group announced it was closing three rural clinics. The company said its consolidation was part of its “ongoing response to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the resulting realities for healthcare delivery.”

    Other companies have closed locations or consolidated services, saying the changes followed physician shortages and recent congressional cuts to Medicaid.

    Trump’s tax and spending law is expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending in rural areas by at least $137 billion by 2034, according to an analysis by KFF, a health policy research organization. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the law will raise the number of uninsured patients by 10 million by 2034.

    Rural health facilities disproportionately rely on Medicaid reimbursement to stay afloat. In 2023, 40.6% of children and 18.3% of adults under age 65 from rural areas and small towns were enrolled in Medicaid.

    Trump’s tax and spending law includes the Rural Health Transformation Program, a one-time $50 billion investment in rural health funding. But the new funding source will not offset what rural health facilities lose from the Medicaid cuts.

    Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy: “Millions of Americans are losing their health care.” 

    Early data supports Murphy’s figure, which he cited while speaking at the “People’s State of the Union” rally. 

    On Jan. 1, enhanced tax credits that helped reduce health care costs for most people purchasing insurance through Affordable Care Act marketplaces expired. KFF estimated that premium costs would more than double in 2026 for Affordable Care Act enrollees. Anecdotal reports show some people have dropped their insurance, citing rising costs.

    Health analysts and the Congressional Budget Office reported that the subsidies’ expiration would cause rising costs that would trigger millions of Americans to forgo health insurance coverage. Early Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data signals that about 1.5 million people may have dropped their insurance in 2026. 

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  • Live fact-checking Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address

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    PolitiFact is live fact-checking President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress Feb. 24. PolitiFact has fact-checked 1,144 of Trump’s statements since 2011. Tonight, we’ll draw on that deep archive to check his speech’s accuracy. 

    To suggest a claim for us to fact-check from the speech, submit a question through this form or email [email protected]. 

    If you would like a morning roundup of the night’s most notable claims, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

    Live Trump State of the Union fact-checks

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  • Live fact-checking Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address

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    PolitiFact is live fact-checking President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress Feb. 24. PolitiFact has fact-checked 1,144 of Trump’s statements since 2011. Tonight, we’ll draw on that deep archive to check his speech’s accuracy. 

    How to watch Trump’s State of the Union address and follow live fact-checks

    Most major network and cable news channels will broadcast Trump’s address. The White House’s YouTube channel will also stream the event starting at 9 p.m. EST.  

    Follow along with our live fact-checking here on our website and across our social media channels, including on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter). 

    To suggest a claim for us to fact-check from the speech, submit a question through this form or email [email protected]. 

    If you would like a morning roundup of the night’s most notable claims, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

    Why does the president give a State of the Union address?

    The State of the Union address is an annual speech the president gives to Congress as part of his duties outlined in the U.S. Constitution: “He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” (Technically, the president’s first-year speech to Congress is not considered a State of the Union address.)

    House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., invited Trump on Jan. 7 to deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. 

    A politician from the opposing party traditionally delivers a speech in response to the State of the Union address; Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will give the 2026 Democratic rebuttal. 

    Some Democratic lawmakers have announced they will boycott Trump’s speech and attend alternative events near the U.S. Capitol. 

    What has Trump accomplished in the first year of his second term? 

    Trump will likely use the speech to highlight his administration’s achievements since he took office. We’re currently tracking 75 of his presidential campaign promises for his second term using our MAGA-Meter. 

    Here’s a breakdown of his promise ratings so far:

    READ MORE: Trump says he’s kept all of his campaign promises. Our promise tracker shows something different.

    How does PolitiFact fact-check live events?

    PolitiFact’s team has already done a lot of work preparing for this address, and we have developed a long list of the things we expect Trump to say.

    When we hear an interesting and checkable statement, the first thing we’ll do is check our fact-checking archive to see if we’ve covered it before. If there’s a match, we’ll let you know almost immediately via our live blog and social media. 

    If it’s something we have not heard before, our reporters get to work running the numbers, speaking with experts and thoughtfully weighing the accuracy of the claim using our Truth-O-Meter rating system. 

    Live Trump State of the Union fact-checks

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  • Va. lawmakers reshape Youngkin’s final budget with focus on affordability, no new taxes – WTOP News

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    Both chambers are expected to pass their respective proposals next week before negotiators reconcile differences in a conference committee. Notably, neither plan includes new taxes.

    The Virginia General Assembly’s money committees on Sunday rolled out sweeping amendments to former Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed two-year, $212 billion state budget, with both the House and Senate advancing plans that emphasize affordability, backfill federal funding gaps and avoid new taxes as they reshape the Republican’s final spending blueprint.

    The Senate Finance Committee’s Senate Bill 30 would end a data center sales tax exemption and set the stage for the state to potentially reap millions in revenue from the industry.

    The spending plan would also deliver $100 in tax rebates to individual filers and $200 to joint filers, raise the standard deduction, protect Medicaid, fund 3% annual teacher raises, invest $50 million in affordable housing and provide $205.7 million for Metro over the biennium.

    The House Democratic plan, branded the “Affordable Virginia Budget,” similarly prioritizes housing, health care and education, but diverges in some spending details — including larger direct investments in the Virginia Housing Trust Fund and a broader package of worker protections and labor initiatives.

    Both chambers are expected to pass their respective proposals next week — the House on Thursday — before negotiators reconcile differences in a conference committee in the coming weeks.

    Notably, neither plan includes new taxes, which prompted Sen. Richard Stuart, R-King George, to vote for the Senate budget in committee, while three of his Republican colleagues abstained.

    “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the fact that there are no tax increases in this budget, that you’ve kept a very conservative forecast of revenues going forward, that we have not built the base budget, but we’re using one-time monies,” Stuart told Senate Finance Committee Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth.

    “But more than that, I’ve been here for a long time, and you are the first Finance chair that I remember that actually took and listened to our considerations and our suggestions, and I very much appreciate that. And I just wanted to say that Madam Chair.”

    Lucas, visibly surprised, replied: “Thank you very much, I really appreciate that compliment, I didn’t see that one coming. Where are the tissues?”

    Reworking Youngkin’s final budget

    Youngkin on Dec. 17 unveiled his final proposed budget, pitching a plan he said built on record revenue growth and sustained his administration’s tax-relief priorities as Democrats prepared to take control of both the General Assembly and the governor’s office.

    The proposal anticipated continued economic strength, with what Youngkin described as a “prudent” revenue forecast rooted in job and business growth. It preserved reserve balances while advancing nearly $730 million in new, ongoing tax cuts and maintaining income tax conformity with recent federal policy changes.

    On the spending side, Youngkin targeted public safety, health care and education, including bonuses and salary increases for teachers and state employees, while projecting a balanced budget over the six-year forecast window. He acknowledged at the time that his successor and the Democratic-led legislature would ultimately reshape the plan.

    Senate Democrats argued Sunday that his outgoing proposal left “significant structural deficiencies,” particularly by not planning for new federal cost shifts under HR1, including potential state matching requirements for food assistance.

    Lucas said the Senate amendments were built around affordability and long-term fiscal balance.

    “It’s the entire mantra of this session,” she said. “The committee has delivered a budget focused on affordability, while still maintaining structural balance.”

    Data centers and tax cuts

    A central change in the Senate plan would allow the data center sales and use tax exemption to end on Jan. 1, 2027. Originally projected to cost $1.54 million annually, the exemption now forgoes roughly $1.6 billion per year in revenue, according to Senate Democrats.

    “In the most recent fiscal year alone, they benefited from more than $33.2 billion dollars in tax-free computer equipment purchases,” Lucas said. “We’re asking data centers to pay their fair share in sales tax to help deliver our core services — education, transportation, and social services.”

    By ending the exemption, the Senate would direct nearly $300 million to transportation across all modes and make one-time investments in water infrastructure, Lucas said, while avoiding additional tolls or fees.

    The Senate plan also includes a one-time tax rebate to be issued around Oct. 15 and increases the standard deduction by $450 for individuals and $900 for married filers.

    “By exempting more income from taxation, Virginians get immediate relief in their paychecks. That’s affordability,” Lucas said.

    Health care and federal uncertainty

    Health and Human Resources Subcommittee Chair Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, said the Senate confronted rising Medicaid costs projected at $3.2 billion in general fund spending through fiscal 2028.

    Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program cover 1.8 million Virginians, he said. The subcommittee adopted $591.2 million in savings strategies and set aside a $90 million reserve while restoring the prenatal care program.

    With enhanced federal Affordable Care Act tax credits having expired Dec. 31, Deeds warned that up to 100,000 Virginians could lose coverage. The Senate includes $200 million in the first year to subsidize premiums.

    The House proposal similarly emphasizes backfilling federal reductions.

    Health and Human Resources Subcommittee Chair Rodney Willett, D-Henrico, said the House recommends $79.1 million to reduce premium spikes, $45 million to restore federal reductions for core public health services and more than $211 million to cover new state cost shares for SNAP benefits.

    “We feel it is a prudent and responsible decision to act now,” Willett said, to ensure uninterrupted access to food benefits.

    The House plan also includes $11.1 million for a sickle cell disease package and funding to improve maternal and infant health programs.

    House Appropriations Committee Chair Luke Torian, D-Prince William, said his chamber’s budget “backfills those holes, not out of politics, but out of prudence.”

    “This is a balanced budget,” Torian said. “It is built on conservative revenue assumptions, maintains healthy reserves, and prepares us for continued uncertainty ahead.”

    Education and housing

    On education, the Senate proposes 3% raises each year for teachers and state employees, along with $50 million for a childcare pilot to match employer contributions.

    Education Subcommittee Chair Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, said the Senate plan adds more than $627 million in general fund support over the biennium, including increased funding for at-risk students, special education and school construction through a 1% local option sales tax for renovation projects, pending local referendums.

    In higher education, the Senate recommends $159.4 million in additional funding, including $65 million for need-based financial aid and $32.5 million for workforce credential grants.

    The House budget also invests heavily in K-12 and early childhood education.

    Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee Chair Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond, said it includes $400 million in one-time flexible funding for school divisions and $160 million in additional special education support, along with $160 million for early childhood education to clear childcare waitlists for families earning below 85% of the state median income.

    On housing, the Senate wants to invest $50 million in its housing trust fund and $13 million for eviction prevention, while the House directs $187.5 million to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund, establishes a $25 million revolving loan fund for mixed-income housing and provides $17 million for eviction prevention.

    Balancing new revenues

    Anne Oman, staff director for the House Appropriations Committee, said the caboose budget signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Friday increased current-year general fund resources by $3.1 billion, leaving $2.3 billion to carry into the new biennium.

    The proposed budget assumes modest 3% to 3.5% annual revenue growth, though year-to-date collections are running at 6.9%.

    Adjustments eliminate Youngkin’s proposed tax cuts, capture nearly $80 million from a business-ready site acquisition fund and recognize potential revenue from skill games legislation, projected at about $176 million annually if enacted.

    After accounting for $1.8 billion in additional spending, the House plan leaves an unappropriated balance of $15.2 million at the end of the biennium, Oman said.

    Despite bipartisan moments, some Republicans voiced caution.

    “I want to say thank you to you,” Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, told Lucas. “This has been a challenging process, and I appreciate the fact that you and I can have candid conversations as we’ve worked through this.”

    He added: “Today, I am going to vote to abstain, because of some of the significant physical impacts that I’m concerned about in Virginia as we continue to discuss. This budget has a significant amount of additional revenues up and above the proposed budget, and I think we need to have a serious conversation about where those revenues come from, how they impact Virginians, and continue to discuss them as we go forward.”

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    LaDawn Black

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  • Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger to give Democratic response to Trump’s State of the Union address – WTOP News

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    Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address next week.

    FILE – Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers her State of the Commonwealth address before a joint session of the Virignia General Assembly at the Capitol, Jan. 19, 2026, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)(AP/Steve Helber)

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address next week, just months after resoundingly winning an office previously held by a Republican.

    Spanberger, who served three terms in the U.S. House, became Virginia’s first female governor earlier this year. She won by a double-digit margin, campaigning on affordability and lowering costs for families — a message Democrats are now elevating as they seek to win back the House and Senate in this year’s midterm elections.

    “Gov. Spanberger will lay out a clear path forward: lower everyday costs, protect healthcare, and defend the freedoms that define who we are as a nation,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

    Democrats try to counter Trump’s large platform

    Spanbberger’s rebuttal will follow Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday, where he’ll have a national platform to tout his record and shape the GOP’s message — valuable airtime presidents often use to the fullest. Trump’s first joint address of his second term last March stretched an hour and 40 minutes.

    Spanberger will have far less time for rebuttal. Last year’s Democratic response, delivered by Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, ran just over 10 minutes.

    The brevity and lack of an audience have made the response to the State of the Union one of the most fraught assignments in politics. Republican Sen. Katie Britt’s 2024 response to President Joe Biden in 2024 was lampooned on “Saturday Night Live,” for example, while now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced mockery for reaching for a water bottle when delivering the GOP response in 2013. Other responses have been quickly forgotten.

    Spanberger’s speech will not be the only Democratic response to Trump on Tuesday night. Leaders also announced that California Sen. Alex Padilla will deliver the Spanish-language rebuttal.

    Some Democratic lawmakers are skipping Trump’s address altogether and holding their own counterprogramming, including a “People’s State of the Union” rally being held on the National Mall with members of the Senate and House.

    “President Trump is a disgrace. He’s easily the most corrupt President in American history by a long shot,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., wrote on social media. “I’m not attending his State of the Union to listen to him ramble and lie.”

    House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has urged his members to either sit in “silent defiance” during Trump’s speech or stay away, wary of the disruptions that have become commonplace at recent presidential addresses.

    Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas was removed from the House chamber during Trump’s address to Congress last year when he stood and started responding to the president. Other Democrats displayed protest signs from their seats.

    Spanberger seen as electoral success for Democrats

    Jeffries said in announcing Spanberger as the party’s pick that she “embodies the best of America as a mother, community leader and dedicated public servant.”

    As a former CIA case officer, Spanberger has tied her political career to her public service and national security credentials. She also has pitched herself as a mother of daughters educated in Virginia’s public schools and a Capitol Hill veteran who often worked across the aisle.

    Since winning the election she has vowed to work with the president when they are aligned, but also has taken more pointed digs at the White House.

    On the campaign trail last year, Spanberger spoke out against the White House’s gutting of the civil service, an issue that hit particularly hard in Virginia, home to a large number of federal workers.

    “Those who have devoted their lives to public service, you are worried about an administration that is gilding buildings while schools crumble, breaking the social safety net and sowing fear across our communities,” Spanberger said at her inauguration. “Betraying the values of who we are as Americans.”

    Last year’s record-breaking government shutdown also hit the state’s sizable federal workforce, leaving many employees without pay for weeks.

    The federal government is once again partially shut down as Democratic leaders in Congress and the White House negotiate funding for the Department of Homeland Security. The shutdown, which began Saturday, is likely to stretch into Trump’s address Tuesday, with no agreement in sight.

    ___

    Diaz reported from Richmond, Virginia.

    Copyright
    © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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  • ICE nabs Iranian national with rape, sodomy convictions after Virginia Democrats move to curb cooperation

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    The Washington, D.C., office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the arrest of an illegal immigrant and Iranian national who had a criminal history that included multiple charges relating to sodomy.

    The arrest comes weeks after Gov. Abigail Spanberger reversed by executive order her predecessor Glenn Youngkin’s 287(g) agreement with DHS, which allowed the commonwealth’s law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities to share resources and information to help apprehend illegal immigrants and criminals.

    Virginia State Sen. Saddam Salim, D-Dunn Loring, also crafted a bill to bar Virginia law enforcement agencies from cooperating with I.C.E. in most instances. The Democratic-controlled chamber passed the measure 21-19.

    SANCTUARY POLICIES LET ALLEGED CHILD PREDATOR ROAM FREE UNTIL DHS MADE PORTLAND, OREGON, AIRPORT ARREST

    Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger speaks in Richmond. (Marvin Joseph/Getty Images)

    Shayan Kahhal, whose sex offender registry provided a residential address near the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, was captured by ICE this week, according to an alert from the agency.

    Kahhal has a criminal history that includes charges of strong-armed rape, strong-armed sodomy on a woman, strong-arm sodomy on a boy and strong-arm sodomy on a girl.

    The Virginia State Police’s sex offender page lists a rape and two forcible sodomy convictions from 2011.

    DHS SAYS ANTI-ICE AGITATORS HELPED CHILD RAPISTS, GANG MEMBERS EVADE DEPORTATION

    Salim’s bill prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from “maintaining, renewing, or entering into any federal immigration law-enforcement agreement unless such agreement contains certain conditions.”

    “The bill also prohibits any person acting in his capacity as a law-enforcement officer to assist or cooperate with or to allow or authorize any resources to assist or cooperate with or to otherwise facilitate any operation executed in whole or in part by federal authorities for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration law,” according to the text from Salim, who recently won an upset victory against longtime incumbent Chap Petersen after the fellow Democrat voiced support for keeping the Washington Redskins’ name and Confederate monuments intact.

    Fox News Digital reached out to Salim, who himself is a legal immigrant from Bangladesh, for comment.

    ICE ARRESTS ALLEGED CHILD SEX OFFENDER RELEASED UNDER CONNECTICUT SANCTUARY LAWS

    The arrest and the bill come on the heels of Spanberger’s order, which she has defended by saying that “Virginians deserve to have their law enforcement resources devoted to the safety and security of their communities, not federal civil immigration enforcement.”

    The 287(g) reversal “restores clarity and accountability to the role of state and local law enforcement and ensures their focus remains on public safety, justice, and community trust,” according to Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, who backed Spanberger’s move.

    CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

    U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem holds press conference on border security and drug seizures, in Otay Mesa

    U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem attends a press conference to provide an update on border security and drug seizures along the U.S.-Mexico border, accompanied by U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks and a Customs and Border Protection official (not pictured), in Otay Mesa, San Diego, California, on Feb. 12, 2026. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

    Spanberger has said that Virginia law enforcement will continue honoring valid judicial warrants, promising to abide by Virginia law in those matters.

    Fox News Digital reached out to the governor’s office for comment.

    Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. 

    He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant. 

    Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

    Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

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  • Virginia General Assembly advances cannabis retail framework – WTOP News

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    After years of clearing the General Assembly only to meet a veto, legislation to create a legal, adult-use cannabis market…

    This article was reprinted with permission from Virginia Mercury. 

    After years of clearing the General Assembly only to meet a veto, legislation to create a legal, adult-use cannabis market in Virginia passed both chambers Tuesday — this time with a governor ready to sign it and retail sales poised to begin as early as November.

    The votes mark the clearest signal yet that Virginia is poised to move from legal possession without legal sales to a fully regulated marketplace, a transition that has eluded the commonwealth since 2021, when lawmakers first legalized simple possession.

    Tuesday morning, the House passed House Bill 642, sponsored by Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, by a 65-32 vote. Hours later, the Senate approved Senate Bill 542, introduced by Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, by a narrow 21-19 margin after an initial failed vote.

    Similar proposals have cleared the General Assembly in recent years — often with bipartisan backing — but were repeatedly vetoed by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin. This year, the political calculus has shifted. Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has vowed to sign legislation establishing a regulated retail market.

    Under Krizek’s bill, the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority would administer the retail system, with no retail sales allowed prior to Nov. 1, 2026.

    “It’s about fixing a status quo that is not working,” he said, noting that while adult possession of cannabis is legal, retail sales remain unregulated.

    Right now, he said, the absence of a legal marketplace means “no testing, no standards and no oversight whatsoever.”

    The bill, he added, would replace what he described as a $5 billion illegal market with a regulated system designed to protect public health. He pointed to requirements for testing, labeling and packaging, as well as enforcement mechanisms and penalties intended to keep products away from minors.

    Krizek said the legislation takes a phased approach to give the Cannabis Control Authority time to implement the framework responsibly. It also preserves local control, granting localities full zoning authority over where and how retail stores operate.

    He added that the proposal creates opportunities for small businesses and communities disproportionately harmed by past enforcement and called it “a measured, responsible step forward.”

    Legal to possess, illegal to sell

    Virginia first decriminalized marijuana in 2020 before lawmakers legalized simple possession.

    But they failed to finalize a retail framework before Republicans regained the governor’s mansion, leaving cannabis in legal limbo — legal to possess, illegal to sell.

    Over the past year, a joint legislative commission has worked to craft a new roadmap, hearing testimony from regulators, industry experts and advocates about safety, access and equity concerns.

    Over the past year, the joint legislative commission held a series of hearings and work sessions to refine the framework, beginning with presentations in August on potential rollout models, followed by October discussions weighing safety, access and equity concerns.

    By November, members were reviewing a draft retail blueprint, and in December they unveiled revisions aimed at setting the stage for a 2026 launch.

    The Senate version, sponsored by Aird, largely mirrors the House proposal but sets a later retail start date of Jan. 1, 2027.

    The measure initially failed Tuesday afternoon after Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, recused himself because he is about to assume a role at the Cannabis Control Authority. Moments later, Ebbin asked for reconsideration, stating he has “no financial interest” in an adult-use cannabis marketplace. On the second vote, the bill passed 21-19.

    The substitute measure adopted this week, Aird said, incorporates many elements lawmakers have seen before but also introduces new approaches — starting with governance.

    “This new legislation takes on the approach where the Cannabis Control Authority will manage the license and regulatory portions while the marketplace is immediately being stood up,” Aird said.

    Taxes, caps and rollout timeline

    The measure establishes a state tax rate of 12.875% on retail cannabis sales, along with an additional 3% local option tax. Permit applications would begin in July 2026, and seed-to-sale tracking would start Sept. 1, 2026, ahead of a Jan. 1, 2027 retail launch.

    “The transaction limit for retail purchases will remain at 2.5 ounces, which has always been throughout this process,” Aird said.

    The legislation outlines standards for a lottery process for impact licensees and creates a tiered cultivation licensing structure based on canopy size, ranging from tiers one through five, with the largest capped at 35,000 square feet.

    A maximum of 350 retail licenses would be issued statewide. Cultivation facilities would be capped at 450 through 2028. At-home cultivation would continue to be permitted, allowing up to four plants per household, provided each plant is tagged with the grower’s name and identification.

    Local governments would no longer be able to ban cannabis retail through referenda.

    The bill also sets THC limits for non-pharmaceutical products at 10 milligrams per serving and 100 milligrams per package. Aird said it includes robust criminal provisions aimed at cracking down on illicit sales and the illegal marketplace.

    “There are a lot of details in this legislation,” she said.

    If signed by Spanberger, the measures would mark the final step in a yearslong effort to bring structure and oversight to a market that has operated without a legal retail framework.

    Aird emphasized Tuesday that many lawmakers contributed to shaping the legislation — a proposal she said reflects extensive collaboration across chambers.

    “There are many in this chamber that have helped shape this legislation,” she said.

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    Will Vitka

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  • VA Dems Promised Good Governance. Weeks After Storm, Roads Tell Different Story | RealClearPolitics

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    It has been nearly three weeks since a major storm dropped over a foot of snow across Northern Virginia, and residents still cannot safely walk to Metro stations, navigate neighborhood roads, or walk their dogs without stepping over frozen mounds of snow-crete. Drivers fare no better, creeping around blind corners where frozen snow stacks block sightlines, and navigating two-lane roads that narrow without warning to one, the second lane still buried under walls of packed snow. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has acknowledged that secondary roads and sidewalks remain impassable, with crews resorting to front-end loaders and skid-steers to break through sleet-hardened snowpack that conventional plows cannot handle. For a state that gets winter weather every year, and whose new Democratic trifecta promised voters that the adults were back in charge, the failure is staggering.

    The Democratic Party once prided itself on a simple proposition: Government can do good, and public services can actually serve the public. Virginians heard that case just three months ago, when Gov. Abigail Spanberger and her party asked voters for unified control of state government, pledging to deliver results on affordability, infrastructure, and competent management. Most Virginians who are currently climbing over ice ridges to reach their mailboxes can be forgiven for concluding that promise was, at best, aspirational.

    Rather than marshaling every available resource to restore basic public services, Richmond has been consumed by an ambitious slate of ideological legislation that has little to do with the daily lives of working Virginians. In the first three weeks of the session alone, the General Assembly has advanced a sweeping assault weapons ban; muscled through more than half a dozen gun control bills on a single day; fast-tracked four constitutional amendments on redistricting, abortion, same-sex marriage, and felon voting rights; and begun work on a cannabis retail licensing regime. Speaker Don Scott and Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell have made clear that their priorities are the agenda items that energize their activist base, rather than the mundane, unglamorous work of keeping roads passable and sidewalks clear. Here’s a suggestion: Pause carving up legislative districts and start carving up ice.

    The contrast between legislative ambition and governing competence could not be sharper. Gov. Spanberger declared a state of emergency and thanked Virginians for staying off the roads, but VDOT’s own spokesman conceded that the agency’s standard for success was merely creating an eight-to-10-foot path “suitable for emergency service vehicles.” Now that it has been two weeks since the storm, that standard for success is triage dressed up in a press release, not good governance. When the bar for success is that an ambulance can squeeze through your street, the party of public investment has quietly surrendered the very premise on which it asked for power.

    Snow removal in Northern Virginia is admittedly a patchwork of responsibility, with some counties managing their own roads and others falling under VDOT’s jurisdiction. But that complexity is an explanation, not an excuse. Residents in both categories pay state taxes that fund VDOT, and a governor with emergency powers has every tool needed to coordinate across jurisdictions. The fragmented response is itself an indictment because it shows that no one in Richmond has treated this as a problem worth owning.

    Virginia is not an isolated case; it is the latest confirmation of a pattern visible wherever Democrats hold unified power. In Minnesota, Democratic governance built a web of welfare programs with minimal oversight that has now produced billions of dollars in fraud. In California, a supermajority legislature presides over a state so rife with corruption that prosecutions stretch from the governor’s own chief of staff to a string of Los Angeles City Council members charged with selling favors and steering contracts into their own pockets. The broad takeaway is unmistakable: When today’s Democratic Party wins full control, it treats government not as a vehicle for universal public services but as a mechanism for redistributing resources to allied interest groups.

    Democratic leaders in Richmond have spent the session making the case that government should do more, pushing for more regulation, more programs, and more public investment. That is a legitimate governing philosophy, but it comes with an obligation: You have to prove you can execute the basics first. Public coffers that should fund road maintenance, snow removal, parks, and the basic infrastructure of shared civic life are increasingly stretched thin by expanding entitlement and transfer programs that, whatever their merits, leave less for the unglamorous work of keeping a state running. If state government cannot clear snow from roads and sidewalks two weeks after a storm, why should voters trust it to manage a far more ambitious agenda? They won’t, because the result is a government that is simultaneously more expensive and less functional – a paradox that defines blue-state governance today.

    Virginians should demand that their elected leaders govern before they legislate. Gov. Spanberger and the General Assembly have plenty of session days remaining to advance their policy agenda. They do not lack time. What they lack is a sense of obligation to the basic compact between a government and its citizens, the compact that says if you collect our taxes and promise competent management, the walking paths to Metro should not still be impassable over two weeks after a snowstorm.

    Voters outside the Commonwealth should take note. When “moderate” Democrats campaign in your state this year promising affordability and good governance, ask them what happened in Virginia, in Minnesota, in California. Ask them why every Democratic trifecta in America seems to produce the same result: ambitious new programs for favored groups and decaying public services for everyone else. Gov. Spanberger ran on affordability and competent governance. Residents of Northern Virginia, still navigating frozen roads and impassable sidewalks, are reconsidering what those words actually meant.

    Dr. Benjamin Jaros is a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and a resident of Northern Virginia.

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  • Gov. Spanberger ends ICE agreement involving Virginia State Police and corrections officers – WTOP News

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    The agreement — which stems from Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration —  had effectively placed state law enforcement under federal control and supervision to conduct civil immigration enforcement. 

    This article was reprinted with permission from Virginia Mercury. 

    Gov. Abigail Spanberger has formally ended an agreement with the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement that had allowed Virginia State Police troopers and Virginia Department of Corrections officers to assist ICE.

    The agreement — which stems from Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration —  had effectively placed state law enforcement under federal control and supervision to conduct civil immigration enforcement.

    Ending the agreements was a campaign promise of Spanberger’s last year when she said tasking state and local law enforcement to help with federal law enforcement was a “misuse of those resources.”

    She said she’d rather law enforcement focus on its core duties than serve as deputies to ICE.

    Executive Order 12 builds on her earlier day-one executive order that gave her the option to end the agreement that Order 12 now rescinds.

    The order directs all state law enforcement agencies to review policies, training and practices to ensure they align with standards of protecting human life and to “not engage in fear-based policing, enforcement theater, or actions that create barriers to people seeking assistance in their time of need.”

    Spanberger pointed to national conversations around ICE’s tactics in a meeting with the news media on Wednesday. As President Donald Trump’s administration has had the agency hyper-focused on Minneapolis in recent weeks, American citizens like Renee Good and Alex Pretti have been killed by agents.

    “I think it has brought the conversation to the forefront,” Spanberger said of how their deaths helped inspire her new order.

    Drawing on her own background in law enforcement, she emphasized that the order is intended to reinforce accountability, public service, and safety.

    “I think it’s extraordinarily important to make sure that we are celebrating, and honoring and recognizing the strong vetting, the strong training, and the incredibly high standards that here in the commonwealth of Virginia, we hold our law enforcement agencies to,” Spanberger said. “We want to make sure that we’re making a clear line in the sand about what is expected of our law enforcement officials.”

    Republicans, however, offered a sharply different view.

    Sen. Glenn Sturtevant, R-Chesterfield said in reaction Wednesday that he believes the order reflects Spanberger “putting politics over public safety.”

    As of late last year, the majority of the thousands of people detained by ICE in Virginia had no criminal histories.

    With Virignia’s legislature and governorship now under Democratic control — at a time when  President Donald Trump has targeted Democratic-led states — immigration advocates and civil rights groups have argued the commonwealth could become the next focal point for ICE enforcement.

    Some Republican lawmakers have suggested Trump could retaliate against Virginia over Spanberger’s actions. Del. Karen Hamilton, R-Culpeper, speculated in a recent social media post that the president could withhold federal funding following Spanberger’s previous ICE-related order — a move Youngkin once threatened against localities that declined to cooperate with ICE.

    When asked Wednesday whether he believes Trump might retaliate, Sturtevant said, “we’ll see.”

    “At the end of the day,” he added, “we know we have criminal illegal aliens here in Virginia. We have federal law enforcement, whose job it is to go and identify, find, and deport these individuals. We had been working constructively with those federal partners to do that.”

    Spanberger, meanwhile, said her order does not prohibit cooperation between state agencies and ICE under limited circumstances, such as participation in special task forces or when ICE presents  judicial warrants requesting assistance.

    “That’s a clear delineation,” she said. “But taking Virginia law enforcement, state agency personnel, and basically giving them over to ICE, is something that ends today.”

    Virginia Mercury reporter Shannon Heckt contributed to this story.

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  • State of emergency: DC region prepares for massive snowfall this weekend – WTOP News

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    A state of emergency is in place in D.C., Maryland and Virginia ahead of what the District’s mayor calls “the largest snowfall” the region has seen in a while.

    Local leaders are bracing for a winter storm that’s slated to pick up steam Saturday night, possibly dropping a foot of snow and sleet across the D.C. region.

    A state of emergency is in place in D.C., Maryland and Virginia ahead of what the District’s mayor called “the largest snowfall” the region has seen in a while.

    Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency in Maryland during a news conference Friday afternoon, following suit with preparations made by Virginia’s governor and D.C.’s mayor. 

    D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has also put a snow emergency in place. Vehicles parked along certain routes could be ticketed and towed starting Saturday afternoon.

    Emergency preparations in Maryland

    Gov. Moore told WTOP anchors Shawn Anderson and Anne Kramer on Friday that the upcoming snowstorm is “unique” because it’s slower moving and cold temperatures could bring more ice.

    He said the state of emergency declaration gives the state “full flexibility” to collaborate with state and federal partners ” to ensure that we are being fully prepared for this storm.”

    “This storm is to be taken very, very seriously. There will be impacts of it that will cover every single part of the state of Maryland. I don’t care where in Maryland you call home, you are going to be impacted by this storm,” Moore said.

    “If we are seeing or monitoring any disruptions within service, they will move as quickly as possible to be able to respond to it,” Moore said of possible service interruptions.

    Moore has requested that President Donald Trump authorize a federal emergency declaration to open up funds for resources and equipment such as generators.

    “This winter storm has the potential to be remarkably dangerous,” Moore said during a Friday news conference. “This winter storm … is not just going to impact the state of Maryland.”

    He urged Marylanders to stay home during and after the storm until crews have cleared the roads.

    “Unless you have a serious emergency, plan to stay home starting tomorrow, adjust your plans for Sunday and Monday now,” Moore said. “Let the professionals do their jobs. Let the team do their work.”

    For those who have to travel, he said to bring along blankets, water and food, and to give snow plows plenty of room on the road.

    “Travel will become extremely hazardous and life threatening, if not impossible, Saturday night into Sunday for much of the state,” Secretary of Emergency Management Russell Strickland said.

    Marylanders in need of help can dial #77 for roadside assistance from state highway crews and first responders.

    Moore said emergency resources, including Maryland National Guard troops, are being deployed around the state in preparation.

    Moore told WTOP that 160 members of the Guard have been activated to help in support roles in state agencies: “We’re really grateful for these remarkable citizen soldiers who have stepped up when our state needs it.”

    “I want to be crystal clear, please use common sense and please show courtesy and grace in the days ahead,” Moore said. “Please stay off the roads. Please look after your neighbors.”

    Temperatures will be frigid over the weekend. Strickland said generators and propane heaters should be used outdoors — not in a garage.

    “This will limit your risk of carbon monoxide poisoning,” Strickland said. “Generators should at least be 20 feet away from the home and away from windows, doors and vents.”

    How Virginia is gearing up for snow

    Speaking with WTOP anchors Shawn Anderson and Anne Kramer, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she declared a state of emergency Thursday to allow the Commonwealth to get ready for the potential impacts of the winter storm.

    “It is a constant and evolving process, and frankly, we’ve got incredible people who have been planning for these types of challenges,” she said. “But to have it across the state all at once is a particularly unique challenge in the moment.”

    A snowstorm in 2022 left many drivers stranded on Interstate 95 in Virginia, including Sen. Tim Kaine, who said he was stuck in his car for 21 hours. Spanberger said the state has taken steps to prevent a similar incident.

    “We have taken action early and certainly among the lessons learned from prior strong snowstorms is that it is important to have the flexibility when you need it to be able to respond to a storm,” she said. “Which is why I signed that emergency declaration (Thursday) morning, so that we could begin putting all of the pieces in place.”

    Those pieces include having Virginia National Guard troops placed around the Commonwealth to respond to emergencies and help with road clearing, she said. State police are also monitoring the storm.

    Crews with the Virginia Department of Transportation are already out pretreating roads. And Spanberger said the state’s department of emergency management is working with local governments to make warming stations available.

    “The real complicating factor here is that the temperatures are supposed to be so cold. And so, places where we will see a lot of rain and a lot of freezing rain, the significant worry there is that we’ll see trees come down, and with it, many power lines,” Spanberger said.

    What does a snow emergency mean for DC?

    The District could start towing vehicles on certain routes as soon as a snow emergency kicks in Saturday at noon.

    That snow emergency status is expected to stay in place until 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, though that’s subject to change depending on how the storm impacts the city. D.C. Public Schools were already closed for students on Monday.

    There’s a map of D.C.’s snow emergency routes on WTOP; parking along the highlighted routes could get you ticketed and towed as early as Saturday at noon.

    “We are also requesting vehicle support from the D.C. National Guard to ensure our first responders are able to move around the city during the storm,” Mayor Bowser said. “We expect that to be related to snow clearing, especially for vulnerable communities.”

    Crews have been brining since Thursday at 7 p.m., according to Anthony Crispino, the interim director of the D.C. Department of Public Works.

    “The brine, which is a mixture of salty water, essentially, and beet juice, it allows it to stick to the road surface, and the beet juice, believe it or not, actually allows it to be effective at a lower temperature than the rock salt that we use,” Crispino said. “By laying down the brine, then on top of that the salt, we’re hoping that we have a good base coat, and when the temperatures start to come up, it’ll melt from below.

    When the region gets hit with heavy bands of snow up front, he said the strategy is to, “try and push as much off the snow, and then let the chemicals that we have do the work on the back end.”

    The city said trash pickup next week is likely to slide by a few days.

    “You are responsible for shoveling your sidewalks, you are also responsible for clearing the area in your alley spaces,” Bowser said. “That goes a long way in helping us have access to the alley ways.”

    But Crispino admitted the city was hoping to get salt trucks inside some alleys before the storm hits, to offer up some initial protection. Both he and the mayor also stressed the importance of checking on older neighbors as the storm goes on.

    “It’s going to be very cold next week, which means the snow sticks around,” Bowser said. “We want people to make sure they have food, they have a safe passage in and out.”

    Eight recreation centers will be open if residents lose power and need someplace warm to go. More could be opened up if needed.

    Bowser also noted the importance of getting the city up and running again after the storm.

    “When we have snow events like this, industry suffers,” Bowser said. “Restaurants and hospitality suffer, and if we can’t get open, then their employees and guests can’t get to work and get to their events.”

    “We want to see everybody next week,” she added.

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Jessica Kronzer

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  • What’s included in Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s first 10 executive orders – WTOP News

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    Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger wasted no time during her first day in office, signing 10 executive orders Saturday, some aimed at boosting affordability.

    Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger speaks after being sworn into office at the Virginia State Capitol Jan. 17, 2026 in Richmond, Virginia. Spanberger is the first woman elected to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s highest office. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)(Getty Images/Win McNamee)

    Gov. Abigail Spanberger wasted no time during her first day in office, signing 10 executive orders Saturday at the Virginia State Capitol aimed at boosting affordability and steering the commonwealth away from former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s policies on education, immigration, diversity and public safety.

    Like many Democrats nationwide, Spanberger seized on the affordability issue on the campaign trail, and three of her 10 executive orders centered around lowering costs for Virginians.

    One order directs all the state’s executive branch agencies to find ways to reduce living expenses; another establishes a task force to make health care spending more efficient and lower costs; the final affordability minded order mandates a review of housing regulation and permitting practices to encourage more development.

    “Whether it’s cutting red tape within the government or enacting policy that provides relief, we must address high housing costs, health care, child care and energy costs,” Spanberger said Saturday.

    Changes to the federal workforce have had a particularly significant impact in Northern Virginia, and that’s also something Spanberger addressed with her initial wave of executive action. With the stroke of a pen Saturday, she created the Economic Resiliency Task Force, which will coordinate a statewide response to federal cuts.

    “We need a full assessment of the federal funds that have been cut, delayed, reduced or potential projected impacts that we may see in the future, and we need recommendations for how we can mitigate the damage — current or future,” Spanberger said.

    Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, told WTOP Spanberger is carrying forward her positive momentum by getting to work quickly.

    “Spanberger won by a massive landslide, unlike Younkin’s very narrow victory,” Sabato said. “Fifteen and a half points is a pretty incredible victory, and it gives her a lot of capital to spend. And she’s going to spend it. She only has four years,” he said.

    Virginia governors are limited to one four-year term.

    Spanberger’s final order Saturday related to immigration enforcement, another response to President Donald Trump and his administration’s priorities. Her order rescinds executive action taken by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin that increased cooperation between local and state police and federal immigration enforcement authorities.

    Democrats nationwide have called for limiting cooperation and criticized the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency whose officers have been deployed to major cities across the country and tasked with deporting immigrants who are in the country without legal permission.

    Congressional Democrats have also floated the idea of holding up funding for ICE.

    “Virginia state and local law enforcement officers must be able to focus on their rapport, responsibilities, investigating crime and community policing,” Spanberger said.

    Other orders were aimed at targeting discrimination, bolstering education and making sure her office can respond to crisis or emergency situations.

    The full text of each order is available here.

    “Executive orders represent just the beginning, first steps that we are taking to make a more affordable Virginia, a safer Virginia and one focused on ensuring that the future of all of our kids is bright,” Spanberger said.

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • Abigail Spanberger sworn in as Virginia’s first woman governor – WTOP News

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    Abigail Spanberger has been sworn into office as Virginia’s first female governor. Spanberger was sworn in at noon Saturday amid a cold drizzle outside the state Capitol after centuries of men holding the state’s top office.

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    Abigail Spanberger inaugurated as Virginia’s first female governor

    Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger arrives for inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool)(AP/Steve Helber)

    RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Amid a cold drizzle, Democrat Abigail Spanberger was sworn into office Saturday at the state Capitol as Virginia’s first female governor after centuries of men holding the state’s top office.

    The inauguration of Spanberger, who defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin, marks a new chapter in Virginia as Democrats pull the levers of power in state government while Republican President Donald Trump sits in the White House in neighboring Washington.

    “The history and the gravity of this moment are not lost on me,” Spanberger said in her address. “I maintain an abiding sense of gratitude to those who work, generation after generation, to ensure women could be among those casting ballots, but who could only dream of a day like today.”

    Spanberger ran on a vow to protect Virginia’s economy from the aggressive tactics of Trump’s administration. On the trail, she spoke of the White House’s gutting the civil service, the rising costs of goods and changes impacting the state’s already fragile health care system.

    In a thinly veiled dig at the president, Spanberger said it was time for Virginians to fix what was broken.

    “I know many of you are worried about the recklessness coming out of Washington,” she said. “You are worried about policies that are hurting our communities, cutting health care access, imperiling rural hospitals and driving up costs.”

    Two other Democrats were also sworn in Saturday. Ghazala F. Hashmi, the first Muslim woman to serve in statewide office in the U.S., is the new lieutenant governor. Hashmi placed her hand on a Quran as she was sworn in. Jay Jones is Virginia’s first Black attorney general. He was sworn into his post, notably, in the former capital of the Confederacy.

    After the ceremony, Hashmi and Jones stood behind Spanberger as she signed her first 10 executive orders. One order that Spanberger signed Saturday rescinds a Youngkin directive from last year instructing state law enforcement and corrections officers to assist with immigration enforcement.

    “Local law enforcement should not be required to divert their limited resources to enforce federal civil immigration laws,” she said.

    Spanberger’s inauguration as the state’s 75th governor is a historic first: only men have held the post since Virginia first became a commonwealth in 1776. And no woman served as a colonial governor before then.

    She will be referred to with traditional formality: “Madam Governor” or, as some officials phrase it, “her excellency.”

    According to “A Guide to Virginia Protocol and Traditions,” males in the official party wear morning coats and women wear dark suits for the inauguration and many, including the new governor’s husband, kept to that tradition on Saturday.

    But as the first woman to serve as governor, Spanberger wore all white on Saturday, a possible tribute to the women’s suffrage movement. She wore a gold pin on her long, white coat that said: “One country. One destiny.”

    Prominent Democrats attended the ceremony, such as New Jersey Gov.-Elect Mikie Sherrill and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. U.S. Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Adam Schiff were seated in the crowd.

    On his 95th birthday, former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder also sat behind Spanberger and watched her inauguration.

    “On these steps, Virginia inaugurated our 66th governor and our nation’s first elected African American governor,” Spanberger said in her speech. “Gov. L. Douglas Wilder changed what so many of our fellow citizens believed was even possible.”

    Democrats in the statehouse have vowed to work with Spanberger to push through their bullish agenda, which includes redrawing the state’s congressional district map ahead of the midterm elections this year.

    The state Democrats picked up 13 seats in the House of Delegates a year after the party’s stunning losses nationwide in the 2024 presidential election.

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    © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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  • Spanberger takes swipe at Trump admin, says Virginians worried about ‘recklessness coming out of Washington’

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    Democrat Abigail Spanberger took multiple swipes at the Trump administration on Saturday as she was sworn-in as Virginia’s first female governor. 

    Spanberger, who handily defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in November and takes over for Republican Glenn Youngkin, told a crowd at the State Capitol that, “I know many of you are worried about the recklessness coming out of Washington.” 

    “You are worried about policies that are hurting our communities, cutting health care access, imperiling rural hospitals and driving up costs. You are worried about Washington policies that are closing off markets, hurting innovation and private industry, and attacking those who have devoted their lives to public service,” Spanberger said. 

    “You are worried about an administration that is gilding buildings while schools crumble, breaking, breaking, breaking the social safety net and sowing fear across our communities, betraying the values of who we are as Americans, the very values that we celebrate here on these steps,” she continued.

    VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS MOVE TO SEIZE REDISTRICTING POWER, OPENING DOOR TO 4 NEW LEFT-LEANING SEATS

    Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger speaks during inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol, Saturday, in Richmond, Va.  (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

    “And across the Commonwealth, everything keeps getting a bit more expensive. Groceries, medicine, day care, the electricity bill, rent and the mortgage. Families are strained, kids are stressed, and so much just seems to be getting harder and harder,” Spanberger added. 

    She then said, “Growing up, my parents always taught me that when faced with something unacceptable, you must speak up.”

    YOUNGKIN BACKS JD VANCE FOR 2028, CALLS VICE PRESIDENT A ‘GREAT’ GOP NOMINEE

    Abigail Spanberger takes the oath for Governor of Virginia

    Abigail Spanberger takes the oath of Governor of Virginia during inaugural activities, Saturday, at the Capitol in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    “You must take action. You must right what you believe is wrong and fix what isn’t working. And I know that some who are here today, or watching from home, may disagree with the litany of challenges and the hardships that I laid out,” Spanberger also said. “Your perspective may differ from mine, but that does not preclude us from working together where we may find common cause.” 

    Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for a response to Spanberger’s remarks.

    Abigale Spanberger and Glenn Youngkin participate in key ceremony

    Abigail Spanberger takes part in the key exchange with departing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin before inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol in Richmond, Va.  (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

    “The history and the gravity of this moment are not lost on me. I maintain an abiding sense of gratitude to those who work, generation after generation, to ensure women could be among those casting ballots,” Spanberger said at one point during her speech.

    CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

    Prior to her inauguration speech, Youngkin posted a video on X where he said it was an “honor of a lifetime” to serve the state. 

    Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

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  • PHOTOS: See Spanberger’s inauguration as Virginia’s 1st female governor – WTOP News

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    Hundreds gathered in Richmond Saturday to view the historic inauguration of Abigail Spanberger as Virginia’s first female governor.

    Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger arrives with her husband Adam Spanberger, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool)

    AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool

    Attorney General elect Jay Jones arrives with his family before Virginia gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger inauguration at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
    Attorney General elect Jay Jones arrives with his family before Virginia gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger inauguration at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi arrives for inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool)
    Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi arrives for inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool)

    AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool

    Va. Gov. Glenn Youngkin arrives with his wife before Virginia gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger inauguration at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
    Va. Gov. Glenn Youngkin arrives with his wife before Virginia gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger inauguration at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    State of the Commonwealth
    Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, center, arrives to deliver his State of the Commonwealth Address during the opening of the 2026 session of the General Assembly at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Wednesday Jan. 14, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

    AP Photo/Steve Helber

    State of the Commonwealth Virginia
    Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin acknowledges the applause as he delivers his State of the Commonwealth Address during the opening of the 2026 session of the General Assembly at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earl-Sears, top left, House Speaker, Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, top center, and Senate President Pro 10, Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, join in the welcome.
    (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

    AP Photo/Steve Helber

    Abigail Spanberger is sworn in as Governor of Virginia during inaugural activities at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
    Abigail Spanberger is sworn in as Governor of Virginia during inaugural activities at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    Ghazala Hashmi takes the oath of office for Lt. Governor during inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026.(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
    Ghazala Hashmi takes the oath of office for Lt. Governor during inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    Jay Jones is sworn in as Attorney General at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026.(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
    Jay Jones is sworn in as Attorney General at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers her inaugural address after she was sworn in as Virginia’s first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
    Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers her inaugural address after she was sworn in as Virginia’s first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

    AP Photo/Steve Helber

    Gov. Abigail Spanberger, back center in white coat, attends an inaugural ceremony after she was sworn in as Virginia’s first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
    Gov. Abigail Spanberger, back center in white coat, attends an inaugural ceremony after she was sworn in as Virginia’s first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

    AP Photo/Steve Helber

    Virginia Gov.-elect, Abigail Spanberger, left, greets former Gov. Ralph Northam, right, and his wife, Pam Northam, center, during in inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Pool/Steve Helber)
    Virginia Gov.-elect, Abigail Spanberger, left, greets former Gov. Ralph Northam, right, and his wife, Pam Northam, center, during in inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Pool/Steve Helber)

    AP Photo/Pool/Steve Helber

    Participants take part in an inaugural ceremony after Abigail Spanberger was sworn in as Virginia's first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
    Participants take part in an inaugural ceremony after Abigail Spanberger was sworn in as Virginia’s first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    Gov. Abigail Spanberger attends an inaugural ceremony after she was sworn in as Virginia's first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
    Gov. Abigail Spanberger attends an inaugural ceremony after she was sworn in as Virginia’s first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    Gov. Abigail Spanberger attends an inaugural ceremony after she was sworn in as Virginia's first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
    Gov. Abigail Spanberger attends an inaugural ceremony after she was sworn in as Virginia’s first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    Gov. Abigail Spanberger attends an inaugural ceremony with her family after she was sworn in as Virginia's first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
    Gov. Abigail Spanberger attends an inaugural ceremony with her family after she was sworn in as Virginia’s first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    Gov. Abigail Spanberger attends an inaugural ceremony with her family after she was sworn in as Virginia's first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
    Gov. Abigail Spanberger attends an inaugural ceremony with her family after she was sworn in as Virginia’s first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.
    (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    Hundreds gathered in Richmond on Saturday to view the historic inauguration of Abigail Spanberger as Virginia’s first female governor.

    Spanberger, a Democrat, beat Republican rival Winsome Earle-Sears in the Nov. 2025 election, leading a Democratic sweep of Virginia’s statewide elections.

    Crowds showed up early for the inauguration ceremony, which began at noon on the South Portico of the state Capitol in Richmond.

    Spanberger succeeds Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. In Virginia, governors are term-limited to one four-year term.

    The new governor will deliver her first address to the Virginia General Assembly on Monday.

    The inaugural Parade will take place after the inauguration ceremony, with participants marching through Capitol Square.

    See photos here of the ceremony, parade and attendees.

     

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Diane Morris

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  • Abigail Spanberger sworn in as Virginia’s 1st female governor in historic inauguration

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    Democrat Abigail Spanberger has been sworn into office as Virginia’s first female governor. Spanberger was sworn in at noon Saturday amid a cold drizzle outside the state Capitol after centuries of men holding the state’s top office.

    “The history and the gravity of this moment are not lost on me — I maintain an abiding sense of gratitude to those who worked generation after generation to ensure women could be among those casting ballots, but who could only dream of a day like today,” Spanberger said in her inauguration speech.  

    “I stand before those who made it possible for a woman to also participate in that peaceful transfer of power and take that oath…”  she added.

    Spanberger defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin, also a Republican. During the election, Spanberger, a former CIA officer and congresswoman, positioned herself as an adversary of the Trump administration. She frequently capitalized on frustrations over federal layoffs in a state with nearly 150,000 federal civilian jobs to cinch the role. 

    Her victory marks a new chapter as Democrats pull the levers of power in Virginia while Republican President Trump sits in the White House next door.

    Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger is sworn into office by the Honorable William Mims, Senior Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, at the Virginia State Capitol.

    Win McNamee / Getty Images


    Two other Democrats were also sworn in. Ghazala F. Hashmi, the first Muslim woman to serve in statewide office in the U.S., is the new lieutenant governor. Jay Jones is the first Black person elected attorney general in Virginia, winning the race despite a text message scandal.

    She will be referred to with traditional formality: “Madam Governor” or, as some officials phrase it, “her excellency.”

    Spanberger’s inauguration marks a new chapter in the state, with Democrats pulling the levers of power in state government while Republicans run neighboring Washington. The state Democrats picked up 13 seats in the House of Delegates a year after the party’s stunning losses nationwide in the 2024 presidential election.

    Abigail Spanberger Is Sworn In As First Female Virginia Governor

    Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger arrives for her Inauguration ceremony at the Virginia State Capitol on January 17, 2026 in Richmond, Virginia

    Alex Wong / Getty Images


    The governor ran on a vow to protect Virginia’s economy from the aggressive tactics of Mr. Trump’s administration. On the trail, she spoke of the White House’s gutting the civil service, rising costs of goods and changes impacting the state’s already fragile health care system. 

    She addressed these issues during her inauguration speech, saying she knows many “are worried about the recklessness coming out of Washington,” which is cutting healthcare access, imperiling rural hospitals, and driving up costs. She added she know many are worried about “Washington policies that are closing off markets, hurting innovation and private industry, and attacking those who have devoted their lives to public service.”

    Democrats in the statehouse have vowed to work with Spanberger to push through their bullish agenda, which includes redrawing the state’s Congressional district map ahead of the midterm elections this year.

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  • Spanberger to become Virginia’s first woman governor during historic inauguration – WTOP News

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    Abigail Spanberger will be sworn in during a historic inaugural ceremony Saturday at noon, at which point she’ll become Virginia’s first woman to serve as governor.

    The ceremony will be held outdoors on the South Portico of the Virginia State Capitol Building in Richmond, Virginia. The ticket lottery is now closed and winners have been notified.

    If you weren’t lucky enough to score a ticket to the event, you can still watch a livestream of the ceremony below once the feed kicks on.

    Also being sworn in Saturday are Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi, the first Muslim woman to win statewide office anywhere in the country, and Jay Jones, who will become Virginia’s first Black attorney general.

    The inaugural parade will start immediately after the noon ceremony and will travel through Richmond’s Capitol Square. More than 25 groups and organizations will participate. The day’s festivities conclude with an inaugural ball in Richmond’s Main Street Station. Click here to see a full rundown of the day’s events.

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    Thomas Robertson

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  • Virginia prepares for historic moment as Spanberger takes office in Richmond – WTOP News

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    Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger will make history once she takes office this weekend, becoming the state’s first female governor.

    Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger will make history once she takes office this weekend, becoming the state’s first female governor.

    Spanberger defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears in November, but the election set the state up for a historic inauguration weekend regardless of the winner.

    Spanberger, who will become the state’s 75th governor, has an inaugural ceremony scheduled for Saturday at noon in Richmond. The event’s theme is “United for Virginia’s Future.”

    “Virginia has known that it was going to have a woman governor for the last several months, but it will be a crowning moment for Virginia politics when that day comes to pass,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington.

    In an interview with The Associated Press, Spanberger said she’s still processing the significance of the moment.

    With Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill’s election victories, there will be 14 female governors in the U.S. But, Kelly Dittmar, director of research at Rutgers University’s Center for American Women and Politics, said that women are still underrepresented at the gubernatorial level.

    “It shows progress, because it wasn’t only that those women came out of nowhere, right?” Dittmar said. “These were women who’ve established their political credentials and qualifications and done so in ways that are similar to their male counterparts.”

    In Virginia, Ghazala Hashmi was elected to be the state’s next lieutenant governor, the first Indian American to win statewide office there.

    Having two women top a statewide ticket has become more common, Dittmar said, and what it demonstrates is that “women are in the kind of pools and of potential candidates to be recruited and supported and ultimately nominated to be governor and then, of course, to be successful at the end of the day.”

    Many of the women who have become governors served in state legislatures or Congress, which could be “feeder positions” for gubernatorial or higher offices, Dittmar said.

    “We have seen that the challenge for women to get into the running and ultimately into gubernatorial office also comes from some gatekeeping we’ve seen by parties,” Dittmar said.

    “And so the fact that we again saw parties really backing these women in terms of selection, to some extent, at least at the state level, that was evidence that also, party leaders are starting to see the benefit of more inclusion in office.”

    Generally, most women who run for political office aren’t themselves making a case to be elected because it could be historic, Dittmar said.

    “What we saw with Sherrill and Spanberger, in particular, is that they were focused on, ‘Here are the issues that are most important to the voters in our state. I am fully qualified to do this job,’” Dittmar said.

    “When and where they kind of brought gender into their campaign was more in the specific roles and experiences, the lived experiences they have had as women, particularly as mothers, I think in both cases, talking about how that perspective and lived experience is going to help them to do the job better.”

    However, Dittmar said, there’s been little racial and ethnic diversity among the women who have served, “and so that is something to look forward toward.”

    Spanberger’s latest administration appointments

    Ahead of her inauguration weekend, Spanberger tapped Jenna Conway to be the state superintendent of public instruction.

    Conway is currently chief of early learning and specialized populations at Virginia’s Department of Education, helping make sure every child is prepared for kindergarten. She’s a Charlottesville City Schools graduate.

    Connor Andrews, meanwhile, was named deputy secretary. He worked as a policy analyst under former Gov. Ralph Northam, and has been working as the University of Virginia’s director for state government relations.

    Spanberger named Carrie Chenery the secretary of commerce and trade. Chenery once worked as assistant secretary of agriculture and forestry in the Office of the Governor. She founded Valley Pike Partners, a consulting firm based in the Shenandoah Valley.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Scott Gelman

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  • Gov. Youngkin touts economic, education gains in final address to Virginia General Assembly – WTOP News

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    In his final State of the Commonwealth address, outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin urged lawmakers not to undo core policies he credits for economic growth as he prepares to hand power to Abigail Spanberger.

    This article was reprinted with permission from Virginia Mercury. 

    Gov. Glenn Youngkin looks into the gallery of the House of Delegates before delivering his final State of the Commonwealth speech on Jan. 14, 2026. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)(Virginia Mercury/Charlotte Rene Woods)

    In his final State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday evening, outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin offered a sweeping defense of his four-year tenure, arguing that Virginia is stronger economically, fiscally and educationally than when he took office in January 2022, as he prepares to hand power to Abigail Spanberger, who will be sworn in as the state’s 75th governor this weekend.

    Speaking before a joint session of the General Assembly, Youngkin framed his farewell address as both a victory lap and a warning — praising bipartisan cooperation where it occurred, but urging lawmakers not to undo core policies he credits for economic growth, particularly right-to-work laws, tax cuts and his administration’s approach to energy and education.

    “This is the state of the commonwealth that I have had the immense honor of serving these past four years,” Youngkin said, thanking lawmakers and Virginians as he prepares to leave office. “By every single metric, today Virginia is stronger than she has ever been.”

    Youngkin, a Republican elected in 2021, entered office amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s aftermath, school closures, rising violent crime and economic uncertainty.

    He repeatedly contrasted those conditions with what he described as a “Great Virginia Renaissance,” asserting that his administration reversed population loss, restored job growth and stabilized state finances.

    Among his central claims was that Virginia has attracted more than $157 billion in business investment during his term, which he said exceeds the combined total of the previous six administrations.

    He pointed to major projects involving companies such as LEGO, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca and Hitachi, along with recent manufacturing announcements in Southside and the Piedmont.

    Virginia, he said, is “a winning state,” with nearly 270,000 more people working now than when he took office and tens of thousands of additional jobs in the pipeline.

    Those investments, Youngkin argued, are directly tied to policies that future lawmakers should preserve, including Virginia’s right-to-work law, which prohibits mandatory union membership.

    “Change Right to Work and jobs will disappear,” he warned. “No amendments. No reforms. No changes.”

    Youngkin also emphasized record state revenues, citing more than $10 billion in budget surpluses over four years and roughly $9 billion in tax relief enacted during his administration.

    He said December revenue numbers showed continued growth, allowing for additional tax cuts alongside expanded funding for education, Medicaid, public safety and capital projects.

    Those budget decisions have been a point of contention for Democrats, who argue that repeated rounds of tax cuts risk limiting long-term investments and question whether recent revenue surpluses are sustainable.

    Education was another cornerstone of Youngkin’s address, particularly his administration’s response to pandemic-era learning loss. He cited Virginia’s ranking near the bottom nationally in reopening schools when he took office and claimed the state has since led the nation in math recovery and reductions in chronic absenteeism.

    “We were 46th in the nation to reopen our schools,” Youngkin said. “The learning loss was devastating.”

    He credited bipartisan legislation, including the Virginia Literacy Act and investments in tutoring, lab schools and career and technical education, for improved outcomes.

    According to Youngkin, four out of five Virginia high school students now graduate with a credential or certificate, and teacher pay has increased nearly 20%, contributing to a sharp drop in vacancies.

    Those reforms have also drawn scrutiny, with ongoing disputes over testing standards, lab school governance and parental rights policies championed by Youngkin, including restrictions on school mask mandates and curriculum content.

    Public safety and behavioral health featured prominently as well.

    Youngkin said violent crime, including murders, has declined roughly 30% statewide during his term, crediting law enforcement funding, anti-gang initiatives and fentanyl enforcement. He highlighted a 59% reduction in fatal fentanyl overdoses, attributing the drop to tougher penalties, public awareness campaigns and expanded access to naloxone.

    On behavioral health, Youngkin touted what he called a complete system overhaul, citing major expansions in crisis beds, mobile crisis teams and the 988 hotline. The administration’s “Right Help, Right Now” initiative has drawn bipartisan praise but also questions about workforce shortages and long-term funding.

    Energy policy marked one of the sharpest contrasts with Democrats and the incoming administration.

    Youngkin reiterated his opposition to rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and urged lawmakers to repeal the Virginia Clean Economy Act, arguing that renewable energy mandates alone cannot meet Virginia’s growing demand, particularly from data centers.

    “We need to double our generating capacity in the next 10 years. Renewables alone, which will drive up costs and risk brownouts, just can’t get it done,” he said, calling for expanded natural gas and nuclear power.

    Democrats have countered that abandoning clean energy targets would undermine climate goals and increase long-term costs, a debate likely to intensify under Spanberger’s administration.

    Youngkin closed his address with a reflection on Virginia’s role in the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary, linking his administration’s emphasis on “commonsense” governance to the state’s founding legacy.

    “It has been the honor of a lifetime for Suzanne and me to serve,” he said. “We have strengthened the spirit of Virginia — together.”

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    Will Vitka

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  • Virginia voter guide: Another special election ahead in Fairfax County to replace a longtime delegate – WTOP News

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    Voters in part of Fairfax County will soon head to the polls to fill an open seat vacated by Mark Sickles in Virginia’s House of Delegates for District 17.

    Voters in part of Fairfax County will soon head to the polls to fill an open seat in Virginia’s House of Delegates for District 17.

    Early voting opens Saturday and the special election will be held Jan. 20 to find a replacement for Democratic Del. Mark Sickles.

    It’s one of a series of special elections triggered by sporadic appointments to Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger’s cabinet, including an upcoming contest that will take place in another part of Fairfax County and Fairfax City.

    The candidates on the ballot in District 17 are Democrat Garrett McGuire and Republican Chris Cardiff.

    Cardiff previously worked as the chief operating officer at a data analytics company with a focus on political campaigns.

    According to his LinkedIn, McGuire worked as a legislative assistant in the Virginia House of Delegates and served with several local nonprofits.

    McGuire has been endorsed by the district’s outgoing representative.

    After more than 20 years in the Virginia General Assembly, Sickles is leaving his seat behind to join Spanberger’s cabinet as the secretary of finance.

    Following Sickles’ appointment, each party had about a week to nominate a candidate for the special election. McGuire won the Democratic nomination during a firehouse primary last month and Republicans selected McGuire as their nominee.

    Outside of Sickles’ departure, a handful of sitting lawmakers are resigning from the Virginia General Assembly to join Spanberger’s administration.

    The contest on Jan. 20 will be the second special election in Fairfax County this month.

    Voters are also headed to the polls Jan. 13 to fill an open seat vacated by District 11 Del. David Bulova. That same day, voters in parts of Prince William and Stafford counties will elect a new delegate to replace Del. Candi Mundon King, who represents District 23.

    Dates at a glance

    • Early in-person voting: Jan. 10 through Jan. 17
    • Deadline to register or update voter registration: Jan. 13
    • Deadline to request mail-in or absentee ballot: Jan. 9
    • Election Day: Jan. 20

    Early voting

    There will be two locations offering early voting from Jan. 10 through Jan. 17.

    Early voting will be held at the Fairfax County Government Center:

    • On weekdays, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
    • On Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

    And ballots can be cast at the at the Franconia Governmental Center:

    • On weekdays, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
    • On Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

    Check in with your local registrar’s office for more information on voting early.

    Voting on Election Day

    Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. for in-person voting on Jan. 20.

    There’s a tool on Fairfax County’s website to show you where to vote.

    Curbside voting is available to people who are 65 or older, or those with disabilities.

    Voters needs to bring a valid ID to the polls. If you happen to forget, you can sign an ID confirmation statement or vote with a provisional ballot.

    To get your provisional ballot counted, you have until noon on Jan. 23 to bring a copy of your ID to the local electoral board or sign a confirmation statement.

    A list of acceptable forms of ID is available online.

    Vote by mail

    Virginians don’t have much time left to request a mail-in ballot. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Jan. 9.

    To be tallied, absentee ballots have to be postmarked on or before the special election, and received by Jan. 23.

    Outside of mailing those absentee ballots, voters can also bring them to a drop-off location. Check in with your city or county elections office for information about drop boxes and their locations.

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    Jessica Kronzer

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