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Newman: Cuts to Medicaid will worsen health outcomes
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act being considered by Congress will cut the Medicaid budget substantially and cause millions to lose health insurance coverage. Without access to good primary care and preventive measures, many more people will present to overloaded emergency departments with health disasters such as heart attacks and strokes that are much more expensive to treat. The net effects are a greater cost to society and personal catastrophe for those affected. Data from the Commonwealth Fund show the United States has poor health outcomes by nearly every measure relative to 10 other wealthy nations; this is because we are the only country of these that does not insure all our citizens.
Trump administration keeps FBI headquarters in D.C., upending planned move
The Trump administration announced plans Tuesday to move the FBI headquarters from the crumbling J. Edgar Hoover Building to the sprawling Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center three blocks west in D.C., reversing decades of planning to relocate the agency to the suburbs and leaving some regional leaders infuriated. . . . The decision heightens regional acrimony over how federal assets are divided among the city, Northern Virginia and Maryland, with D.C. leaders celebrating the FBI staying put and suburban leaders incredulous that President Donald Trump snatched away a long-sought economic development prize.
Energy demands, regulations and federal funding challenge Virginia Clean Economy Act
In July 2020, the Virginia Clean Economy Act went into effect, setting the commonwealth on a path towards zero-emissions in its energy production by 2050. The lofty goals were designed to combat climate change and prepare Virginia to fulfill future electricity demands. Now as the state grapples with energy needs that have expanded since the passage of the bill — and with looming changes to federal energy policy — there are questions about if, and how, the law should be changed.
SC GOP taps Virginia governor to headline Silver Elephant Gala fundraiser
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will keynote the South Carolina GOP’s annual fundraising gala, the state Republican Party announced Tuesday. Youngkin’s election in November 2021 gave Republicans nationwide a morale boost after Democrats won the presidency while gaining control of the U.S. Senate a year earlier.
Court partly reverses Va. ban on efforts to change minors' sexual orientation
Virginia’s state law that bans medical professionals from practicing conversion therapy — seeking to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity — on minors is no longer fully in effect. A Henrico County judge entered an order that permanently prohibits the state from enforcing parts of the 2020 law that apply to talk therapy. Other means of conversion therapy, such as electric shock and nausea-inducing drugs, are still banned.
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 AG says enforcing Virginia’s ban on ‘ex-gay therapy’ for minors would violate religious freedoms
Virginia’s attorney general office says it won't enforce the state’s ban on so-called ‘ex-gay therapy’ for minors. The notice comes after a consent decree was announced between the state and a Front Royal County counselor who wanted to engage in the practice. “For five years, Virginia’s children struggling over gender confusion and sexuality have been left without professional help,” said Victoria Cobb with the Family Foundation of Virginia announcing a new agreement with the Virginia Attorney General’s office. It would block any enforcement of the Commonwealth’s five-year-old ban on so-called “ex-gay” therapy for minors.
Grieving mother joins AG in challenging Virginia's early release policy
Virginia's enhanced earned sentence credits program is facing scrutiny as victims' families join Attorney General Jason Miyares in calling for reform, while supporters defend the initiative as an effective rehabilitation tool. Before 2020, offenders in Virginia were required to serve 85% of their sentences. However, a law passed by the General Assembly and signed by former Governor Ralph Northam changed this requirement, allowing inmates to earn up to 180 days off their sentence for each year served, effectively reducing their time to about 66% of the original sentence.
Trump nominates Gilbert for U.S. attorney job in Western Virginia
President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, a former state prosecutor and speaker and minority leader of Virginia’s House of Delegates, to become the next U.S. attorney for the western half of the state. Trump selected Gilbert to serve, subject to Senate confirmation, for the next four years.
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.