Search
Miyares’ office green lights agreement preventing state from enforcing parts of state ban on conversion therapy
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is siding with two Virginia counselors. Miyares’ office agreed to what’s called a consent decree to settle a lawsuit filed by John and Janet Raymond — two counselors who said Virginia’s ban on conversion therapy for minors violated their free speech and religious rights. The decree will prevent the state from disciplining counselors who engage in conversation “talk therapy” with LGBTQ youth.
Virginia senators seek injunction against seating 8 rejected BOV appointees
Nine Democratic state senators are asking a Fairfax County circuit judge to fast-track a preliminary injunction that would prevent three Virginia universities from installing rejected board of visitor appointees, the latest salvo in the senators’ war with the Republican Youngkin administration. On Tuesday, attorneys representing Virginia state senators filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against George Mason University Rector Charles Stimson, University of Virginia Rector Rachel W. Sheridan and Thomas E. Gottwald, who was previously president of Virginia Military Institute‘s board, from recognizing eight people whom Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed to the three schools’ boards but were rejected in June by a Senate committee.
Warner, Kaine say GOP budget bill would strip insurance from 323,000 Virginians
Virginia’s two Democratic senators voted against a Republican budget package that passed the Senate Tuesday morning in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after an all-night session. The nearly 1,000-page legislation now returns to the House where its passage remains uncertain. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine released a joint statement opposing the measure. “Today, Republicans jammed through a partisan megabill that slashes Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and other critical programs that Americans rely on in order to pay for massive tax breaks to the very rich,” the senators said.
Va. GOP's ticket campaigns together, but not side-by-side
Virginia’s statewide GOP ticket appeared together for the first time Tuesday night — for about a minute — at a rally in Fairfax County, following a controversy that had prompted Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the party’s nominee for governor, to keep John Reid, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, at arm’s length. Earle-Sears, Reid and Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is running for reelection, shared a brief moment on the stage together alongside Gov. Glenn Youngkin and many others at the end of the rally at the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department.
Virginia’s Republican statewide ticket rallies together
Hundreds of supporters packed into what became an uncomfortably warm, standing-room only event Tuesday night at the Volunteer Fire Department in Vienna to watch the Republican statewide ticket appear together for the first time. For an event billed as a unifying moment for the Republican nominees, who got off to a rocky start this year, the candidates did not themselves dwell for very long on their ticket-mates. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, Attorney General Jason Miyares and conservative radio host John Reid, who are running for governor, attorney general and lieutenant governor, appeared on stage together for less than a minute at the end of the two-hour long rally.
Senate version of Trump's bill poses test for Va. Republicans in U.S. House
Former state Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta, was a leader of Virginia’s long political battle to expand eligibility for its Medicaid program, so he hopes Virginia Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives will stand their ground this week to block legislation by the U.S. Senate that he said would undermine the program’s expansion and other parts of the state’s health care safety net.
Court rules talk-based conversion therapy is legal in Virginia
A Henrico County Circuit Court judge on Tuesday ordered that licensed counselors be allowed to engage underage clients in a controversial form of talk therapy about gender identity and sexual orientation that medical and mental health experts say can be harmful. The case underpinning the new consent decree with the Virginia Department of Health Professions stemmed from a 2020 state law banning “any practice or treatment that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.” Last year, Front Royal-based counselors John and Janet Raymond challenged the ban.
GOP nominees share stage, but not unity
All three Republican statewide nominees appeared at the same event for the first time on Tuesday night in Vienna — but tensions appear to remain between gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears and lieutenant governor nominee John Reid. Reid said he is committed to helping Earle-Sears win in November, but she did not mention him during her speech and did not publicly interact with him after the event. While ignoring Reid, Earle-Sears advocated for attendees to support House of Delegates candidates and the Republican nominee for the Eleventh Congressional District’s election.
At Northern Va. rally, GOP statewide ticket shows unity after months of party turmoil
After months of infighting that exposed deep fractures within the Virginia GOP, the party’s three statewide candidates appeared together for the first time Tuesday evening, projecting a message of unity at a packed rally in Vienna. The event at the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department drew more than 500 supporters and marked a public effort to move past a bitter dispute that erupted this spring when Gov. Glenn Youngkin privately asked John Reid, the party’s nominee for lieutenant governor, to withdraw from the race.
Trump nominates Gilbert for U.S. attorney post
President Donald Trump has nominated former House Speaker Todd Gilbert of Shenandoah County to be the next U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia — the top federal prosecutor for the western half of the state. Gilbert had been one of two attorneys recommended to the president by Virginia’s two Democratic U.S. senators, which is the standard procedure for such positions.