Youngkin promotes budget initiatives in speech to legislature; Dems spell out opposition

RICHMOND – The General Assembly officially got down to work Monday with Gov. Glenn Youngkin asking lawmakers to push the state “to soar to even greater heights,” and Virginia Democrats saying there was “no room for performative partisan ploys” in Virginia.

With Democrats holding slim majorities in both the House of Delegates and Senate, the Republican governor, now in his last full year in the Executive Mansion, focused much of Monday’s State of the Commonwealth address on trying to build bipartisanship in a legislature where Democrats have said Youngkin is kowtowing to President-elect Donald Trump and the “Make America Great Again” agenda as Trump prepares to take the oath of office next Monday.

“Virginia is growing. Virginia is competing. Virginia is winning,” Youngkin said in a joint session of the Assembly Monday morning. “The State of our Commonwealth is … strong, very strong. Let me be clear … this strength is because of the work that we have all done together.”

In a televised Democratic response, state Sen. Lashrecse Aird of Petersburg said she and her colleagues “cannot share the governor’s enthusiasm” that the state is prospering as much as he claims.

“Once again, Governor Youngkin’s vision reflects a plan to single-handedly keep a selected few winning and those who need help the most, losing,” Aird said. “The ultra-wealthy, corporations and special interests are the winners under the governor’s plan while too many working families are left behind.”

Aird was joined on the televised response with Del. Joshua Thomas of Prince William County.

Youngkin used his speech to push his recommended biennium budget that includes, among other things, elimination of local car taxes and taxes on tips, $1 billion in education funding and $60 million in state surplus dollars to fund tuition for survivors of Virginia veterans killed in action.

The car-tax elimination, which was tried and ultimately failed under the administration of former Gov. Jim Gilmore, is one that Aird said in her response was not one of the “smarter, more inclusive ways to get money back into the hands of people” that her party backs.

“Senate Democrats propose to provide meaningful economic support for individuals and families that go beyond the requirement of having a car, like refundable tax credits that give a boost to their income giving them the choice of putting money towards personal needs like groceries, child-care, prescriptions and their housing needs,” she said.

In the education arena, Aird said strides have been made “despite Governor Youngkin, not because of him.” She criticized his call for a $50 million private school voucher system, saying that only benefits wealthier families who can afford private schools.

“These are real dollars that should instead be put back where they belong, our still underfunded public-school systems,” Aird said.

Youngkin also repeated his call to slash funding to any Virginia locality that tries to declare itself a “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants.

“If someone is in this country illegally, and they commit a violent crime, they should get a one-way ticket back to where they came from. This should not be controversial,” Youngkin said. “Virginia is not a sanctuary state. If localities have “sanctuary city” policies and refuse to cooperate with [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement], they should lose state funding – full stop.”

Responded Aird, “In times like these there is no room for performative partisan ploys in the commonwealth of Virginia. Instead of Governor Younkin falsely categorizing Virginia as a border state and threatening to remove funding from our hard-working public safety departments, we should instead focus on making sure every household throughout our Commonwealth feels safe and their neighborhoods are free of gun violence.”

Monday’s State of the Commonwealth address and Democratic responses were delayed from their traditional time of the first day of the legislative calendar. The Assembly gaveled into session last Wednesday but immediately went on a four-day recess while Richmond dealt with its water crisis.

You can watch Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s complete State of the Commonwealth address and the Democratic response from state Sen. Lashrecse Aird and Del. Joshua Thomas here.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Youngkin delivers State of the Commonwealth speech; Aird leads opposition

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