Youngkin, Virginia Democrats Agree to Finish Budget in May Special Session

Glenn Youngkin Budget

Governor Glenn Youngkin and Democratic leaders in the Virginia General Assembly confirmed on Wednesday they will release a budget in May and pass it during a special legislative session.

The governor’s office released a joint statement including Youngkin, Speaker of the House Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), Senate Finance Chair L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) and House Appropriations Chair Luke Thorian (D-Dumfries) confirming they will continue work on a bipartisan budget that will ultimately be unveiled on May 13.

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Virginia Democrat Leaders Declare Themselves ‘Adults in the Room’ on Budget Debate, Youngkin Admin Acting Like ‘Spoiled Brats’

Virginia Democrats

Democratic leaders from the Virginia General Assembly held a press conference on Monday to discuss the state of negotiations to pass a budget for the commonwealth, raising claims about the governor’s behavior and aptitude during the negotiations.

Various Democratic leaders declared themselves the “adults in the room” during budget negotiations, claimed Governor Glenn Youngkin lacks political aptitude and accused his administration of acting like “spoiled brats” while refusing to respect the separation of powers.

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Gov. Youngkin Defends Democratic House Speaker Don Scott After VAGOP Called Attention to Prison Record

House of Del Speaker Don Scott and Gov Glenn Youngkin

Governor Glenn Youngkin wrote in defense of the Democratic Speaker of the House of Delegates on Thursday after the Republican Party of Virginia (VAGOP) cited the felony drug conviction of Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) and claimed he wants to lower the penalties for drug crimes to help drug dealers in a post to social media.

In a now-deleted post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the VAGOP reportedly wrote, “Is it any surprise that [Scott] spent 8 years in federal prison for peddling drugs to college kids, and now he’s obsessed with legislation to cut breaks for drug dealers? Anything for your buddies, right?”

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YoungkinWatch: Democratic Speaker-Designee Wants Youngkin to Help Restore Voting Rights for Felons

Virginia Speaker-designee Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) said in an appearance on “Meet The Press Now” shared to social media on Monday that he expects Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) to sign Democrats’ forthcoming legislation to restore voting rights for felons, but added that he is ready to take the decision “away from the governor” if he resists their “opportunity” to “restore rights.”

“There are several issues we can work on, I think the governor’s already signaled that he’s ready to reset and ready to work with us,” Scott said, noting Youngkin’s previous suggestion the parties could work together on mental health, drug addiction, and other issues.

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YoungkinWatch: Democrats Release Plan to Put Abortion in Virginia Constitution, Ban Guns after Governor Promises Bipartisan Agenda

Gov. Glenn Youngkin

Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly announced joint legislative plans on Monday to enshrine abortion access into the state’s constitution, raise the minimum wage, automatically restore voting rights for felons, and ban AR-15 rifles. The plans were released after Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) said he would pursue bipartisan legislation in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly.

Virginia Democrats in both chambers of the legislature say they submitted four bills on Monday, the first day of prefiling for the 2024 General Assembly Session, which seek to make good on the party’s campaign partisan campaign promises.

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YoungkinWatch: Democrat Speaker Nominee Wants Relationship ‘Reset’ as Governor Promises Bipartisan Legislation

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) appeared to receive an olive branch from Delegate Don Scott Jr. (D-Portsmouth), who the Virginia Democrats elected as their Speaker-designee for the Virginia House of Delegates following Republican losses in last week’s elections, after Scott stated he wants “a reset” between the men during a Friday interview.

In Friday remarks to The Washington Post, the Speaker-designee described himself as a “pragmatic progressive” who is ready for “a reset” with Youngkin. The outlet reported Scott believes Democrats and Youngkin “can find common ground on areas such as education, mental health funding and creating good jobs,” and the publication noted Youngkin made similar promises in a press conference shortly after the electoral defeats of November 7.

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Virginia House Democrats Pick Don Scott Jr. for New Minority Leader

RICHMOND, Virginia — Delegate Don Scott, Jr. (D-Portsmouth) is the new Democratic Leader/Minority Leader in the Virginia House of Delegates, elected on Wednesday morning. Scott had pushed to oust then-Minority Leader Eileen Filler-Corn who was voted out at the end of April, but at that time the caucus opted to delay a vote on a new leader to give time for other candidates to campaign.

“I’ve come through some adversity in life and I’ve been able to overcome it and I’ve done very well for myself,” Scott told reporters after the results were announced.

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Progressive Wing of Virginia Democrat House Ousts Filler-Corn as Minority Leader

The highest-ranking member in the Democrat Party’s House of Delegates was ousted in an effort led by the progressive wing of her own party.

“I thank the people of Virginia and my colleagues in the House of Delegates for allowing me to serve as the first woman and first person of Jewish faith to serve as Speaker in the 403-year history of our Commonwealth — truly the honor of my life,” Del. Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) said. “I was proud of all that we accomplished after taking the majority in 2019 and was willing to step up as Minority Leader once more to regain that majority. Our caucus is made up of 48 talented and diverse individuals and I look forward to working with them to retake the majority.”

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Wason Center Poll Finds Slight Majority Disapproval of Youngkin’s Job Performance

A Wason Center/Christopher Newport University Poll found Governor Glenn Youngkin’s current job approval trailing slightly, with 41 percent approval and 43 percent disapproval. Forty-five percent of voters polled said Virginia is heading in the right direction, and 41 percent say it is headed in the wrong direction. Both results are within the poll’s plus-or-minus 4.2 percent margin of error. The Center reported that those results fall largely along partisan lines — 80 percent of Republicans say Virginia is going in the right direction, while only 22 percent of Democrats said the same. Key Republican initiatives got mixed results.

“In this highly polarized environment, we see partisans running to their corners on how they view the direction of the Commonwealth and the job of the governor,” Academic Director of the Wason Center Quentin Kidd said in a press release. “Youngkin’s approval numbers are certainly lower than those of recent governors in Wason Center polling early in their term.”

“These polls were wrong during the campaign and are wrong now,” Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said in a statement. “Virginians endorsed Governor Youngkin’s grocery tax plan so overwhelmingly that outgoing Governor Northam included it in his budget proposal. Governor Youngkin’s initiatives have received bipartisan support and he looks forward to delivering on more promises that he made during the campaign.”

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Exclusive: Inside Virginia Gov. Youngkin’s Meeting with Democrat Delegate Who Questioned Governor’s Christian Faith

A source inside the Virginia Capitol Thursday spoke exclusively to The Virginia Star about Wednesday’s tiff between Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and Del. Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), who claimed in an interview with the Washington Post that the Governor was not comporting himself in a manner consistent with his Christian faith. 

At the time of Washington Post’s publication, Scott was expecting the governor to meet with him in his office. 

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