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Youngkin to cut $900 million from budget as financial buffer
Gov. Glenn Youngkin is cutting $900 million from the revised two-year state budget to set aside a buffer against potential revenue losses as Virginia’s economy braces for deep cuts in federal employment and spending, and the financial fallout from President Donald Trump‘s tariffs on global trading partners. Youngkin, who continues to defend Trump’s tariffs and cuts to the federal workforce, said on Friday that he is vetoing 37 line items in the budget that the Democratic-controlled General Assembly delivered to him. Most of the savings, about $840 million, will come in the current fiscal year and then roll over as surplus in the next year, which begins July 1.
VCU student arrested: Event organizer details confusion on campus
A Virginia Commonwealth University student was arrested April 29 during what campus police called an "unauthorized event" outside VCU's Cabell Library. Oscar Ferguson-Osborne, 22, was arrested while holding a sign denouncing campus police for pepper-spraying protestors the year before when a pro-Palestinian encampment was broken up. Ferguson-Osborne was one of 13 people arrested last year. . . . Sereen Haddad, a member of the university's Students for Justice in Palestine chapter who helped organize the event, told The Progress-Index that the gathering was not a demonstration. Instead, students met at the lawn at 2 p.m. to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the encampment being torn down and study for finals.
Only one Republican incumbent in the House of Delegates will face a primary: Del. Terry Austin
The singular Republican incumbent to see a primary challenger in this year’s House of Delegates races is an unexpected one, according to one lawmaker. Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington County, said that Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt County, was the last person that he and other members of the General Assembly expected to see a primary challenge in June. Pillion added that, regardless of the incumbent, the primary challenge is evidence that General Assembly seats don’t belong to the lawmakers: they belong to the people that the lawmakers represent.
Hopewell council fires city manager and clerk ‘without cause’ in controversial vote
The attorney for former Hopewell City Manager Dr. Concetta Manker said his client is considering “any and all legal options” after City Council voted along racial lines to fire her without cause. “Tonight’s actions by the Hopewell City Council are deeply disappointing,” Richmond attorney Richard Hawkins told The Progress-Index by email after the meeting. “Dr. Manker has put her heart and soul into working for the city and always put the people of Hopewell and her employees first.” Manker and City Clerk Brittani Williams were fired in similar 4-3 votes during a special council meeting May 1.
Earle-Sears wrote of ‘moral opposition’ to marriage equality when signing 2024 bill
Republican candidate for governor and current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears said that she was “morally opposed” to marriage equality legislation Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) signed into law in 2024, as written in a note on the bill itself. During the 2024 General Assembly session, legislators considered House Bill 174, a piece of legislation that made it illegal to deny a couple a marriage license based on sex, gender or race. The bill was ultimately passed, signed by Youngkin and became law on July 1, 2024.
Lt. Gov. Earle-Sears opposed anti-discrimination marriage bill in handwritten note
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears took the unusual step last year of including a note of personal objection to a bill she was constitutionally required to sign — a symbolic gesture that underscores her deeply held views on LGBTQ+ rights as she campaigns for governor. “I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly,” Earle-Sears wrote on the legislation, which prohibits officials from denying marriage licenses based on sex, gender or race. A copy of the signed bill was obtained by Virginia Scope through a public records request filed with the House Clerk’s Office.
Three Va. Planned Parenthood clinics affected by Trump administration’s Title X funding freeze
Three Virginia Planned Parenthood health centers in Richmond, Hampton and Virginia Beach have been affected by federal Title X family planning grant freezes, losing over $1 million in funds fueling family planning services. Established in 1970, the federal program helps low and extremely low-income people access family planning care like contraception, sexually transmitted disease screenings and treatment as well as cancer screenings, at low or no cost.
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.
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.
Appeals judge: Chesterfield detective’s ‘dragnet’ of cellphone data violated Fourth Amendment
On Wednesday, a Richmond federal judge authored a harsh criticism of the Chesterfield Police Department’s practice of collecting broad amounts of cellphone location data from Google in the search for crime suspects. The criticism came in the form of a dissent from the court’s final ruling, which ultimately did not weigh in on the practice. U.S. Judge Roger Gregory warned that the practice was a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens against unlawful intrusion from the government.