While Democrats in Virginia have suggested the incoming Trump administration’s proposed cuts to the federal government will be a political liability among voters in the Old Dominion, both Governor Glenn Youngkin and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears made statements last week declaring their support for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) commission to be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Youngkin was first to confirm his support for DOGE on Friday when the governor signed a letter by the Republican Governors Association (RGA) to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-04).
“We are writing today to express our overwhelming support for President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Initiative and request that Congress work alongside him to solidify the efficiencies that are found into law,” said 25 Republican governors, including Youngkin, in their letter to the Republican congressional leaders.
Youngkin and the other governors noted, “Our states are successful because we live within our means. We balance our budgets, lower taxes, leverage surpluses, pay down debt, improve the efficiency of state governments, and create an environment where our constituents can build a prosperous future for themselves, their family, and their community,” and told the lawmakers, “It is past time for Washington to live within its means too.”
Winsome-Sears, who last year launched a gubernatorial campaign to succeed the term-limited governor, issued a similar statement in support of President-elect Donald Trump’s DOGE on Friday, according to The Richmond Times-Dispatch.
“Government must be responsive to the people, and Americans deserve to know their tax dollars are being used wisely,” Earle-Sears said, according to the outlet. “Reducing barriers and regulations, and increasing transparency, effectiveness, and accountability have been priorities for the Youngkin-Earle-Sears Administration. We do not apologize for being good stewards of the mission that the people of Virginia have given to us.”
Their statement comes after Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) predicted Trump’s campaign promise to relocate up to 100,000 federal jobs from Washington, D.C., would have a negative impact on Virginia Republicans.
“We have over 140,000 federal civil servants who live in Virginia, who rely on the government,” said Scott last month. “President-elect Trump has already said he’s going to get rid of a lot of jobs, move them away from Virginia, move them away from Maryland, move them to the middle of nowhere, to the middle states, and I think that will be a mistake, and again, impact our economy.”
While Scott predicted Trump’s plan to “shatter the deep state” would help Democrats in Virginia’s recent special election, the party made no progress in expanding its slim majorities in the General Assembly.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Winsome Earle-Sears” by Winsome Earle-Sears.
