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Top Youngkin strategist steps aside in wake of GOP turmoil and infighting
Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s top political adviser, Matt Moran, temporarily stepped aside from his job as the head of the powerful Spirit of Virginia PAC, the PAC’s chief financial officer confirmed late Thursday evening. Lisa Jennings told The Mercury that Moran, who allegedly advised Youngkin to pressure Republican lieutenant governor nominee John Reid to leave the race, had informed her on Wednesday that he would leave temporarily. A senior administration official said that Moran decided to step away because the controversy created a distraction for himself and his work for the PAC.
Dominion confident Virginia wind farm will get done, despite Trump
Construction on the country’s largest offshore wind project is more than half complete, Dominion Energy reported during its first quarter earnings call Thursday. Company executives said they expect the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project to begin delivering electricity to customers in early 2026 and be fully built out by the end of next year. The progress on the 176-turbine project is notable because it comes at a time when President Donald Trump has attacked offshore wind, halting work at a project off New York and pausing all new permits and leases.
Senate blocks Kaine-sponsored bid to stop Trump’s tariffs
Senate Republicans narrowly voted down a resolution co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine on Wednesday that would have blocked global tariffs announced by President Donald Trump earlier this month, giving the president a modest win as lawmakers in both parties have remained skeptical of his trade agenda. The 49-49 vote came weeks after the Senate approved a resolution that would have thwarted Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada.
Kaine says Democrats to force vote on resolution for transparency on deportations
Senate Democrats plan to force a vote in the coming weeks on a resolution to require more transparency from President Donald Trump’s administration about deportations to El Salvador. The resolution announced by Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine on Thursday comes after two votes on Democratic resolutions challenging Trump’s tariffs. It is part of a larger strategy by Democrats to continue using mechanisms under the law to take floor time from majority Republicans and vote on reversing parts of Trump’s agenda.
Virginia Democrats Think They Have a New Rallying Cry: Government Job Cuts
Democrats in Virginia are counting on cuts to the federal workforce playing a key role in helping them win them back the governor’s seat. As President Donald Trump’s administration takes steps to reduce the federal workforce, Virginia, which neighbors Washington and has among the highest number of federal workers of any state in the country, is poised to be hit especially hard. And its off-year gubernatorial race is set to be an early indicator of how much the cuts resonate with voters.
Virginia gas plant progresses despite opposition
In response to increasing energy demand because of extreme weather and the rapid growth of data centers, Dominion Energy plans to build a natural gas plant in Chesterfield, Va. But the nearby community, which was home to a coal plant for almost 80 years and currently lives near two existing gas plants, has resisted the project for months, citing concerns about air quality. Still, Dominion Energy is one step closer to building the new plant after applying in early March for a Certificate of Public Convenience from the State Corporation Commission, which evaluates utility projects’ costs and rationales for increasing rates. Dominion expects to go before the commission in November.
Yancey: Is it over? 8 more things to know about the John Reid controversy.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin blinked. Then Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears blinked. That’s my read on the past 48 hours in Virginia politics as the controversy over Republican lieutenant governor candidate John Reid may now have reached its end point with Reid still very much on the party’s ticket. In case you’ve been blissfully out in the woods without Wi-Fi for the past week, here’s the briefest of recaps: Last Thursday, Youngkin became aware of a social media account with Reid’s longtime screen name that since at least 2014 has been posting photos of nude male models. On Friday, Youngkin told Reid he should drop out of the race.
Youngkin aide defends against Reid extortion claim
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s top political aide said Wednesday that the campaign manager for GOP lieutenant governor nominee John Reid privately acknowledged he was aware of a social media account containing racy images that led Youngkin to urge Reid to leave the race — but which Reid has said he knew nothing about. Youngkin political adviser Matthew Moran included the statement in an affidavit responding to Reid’s accusation that Moran’s actions amounted to extortion, the latest escalation in the unusual spat between the state’s leading Republican and one of his party’s major nominees in an election year.
Patrick Co. Board of Supervisors votes to censure member
In a majority vote on Monday, the Patrick County Board of Supervisors voted to censure Steve Marshall, Blue Ridge District representative. . . . Overby read the resolution, which stated in part that the board “expresses their displeasure with the consistent display of unprofessional behavior of Board of Supervisors member Steve Marshall by his repeated attempts to silence, harass, intimidate, bully, threaten and defame other members of the Board of Supervisors as well as appointed members of the board’s committees, commissions, and authorities and citizens of Patrick County.
Alexandria City Council approves changes to Policing Review Board, auditor
Alexandria City Council voted 5-2 to give the Independent Policing Auditor limited subpoena power and grant Council authority in case of an impasse between the auditor and the Independent Community Policing Review Board at Saturday’s public hearing. Councilors Jacinta Greene and Abdel Elnoubi, who favored granting full subpoena authority, voted in opposition. . . . The Policing Review Board has been unable to fully operate without the final changes made by Council.