VA House Speaker Don Scott Sends Letter to Gov. Youngkin, Calls for Removal of Project 2025 Contributor and Closer Look at MAGA-Extremist Appointees

From VA Speaker Don Scott:

House Speaker Calls for Removal of Project 2025 Contributor and Closer Look at MAGA-Extremist Appointees

Richmond, VA – Last week, Speaker of the House of Delegates, Don Scott, sent Governor Youngkin a letter to request the removal of Dr. Lindsey Burke from the George Mason University Board of Visitors. Dr. Burke authored chapter 11 regarding education in the controversial Project 2025. In response, the Governor refused to consider her removal and defended her qualifications. Speaker Scott released the following statement in response to Governor Youngkin’s defense of Burke and MAGA allies of Project 2025:

“Since Dr. Burke’s appointment in 2023, we have learned of her involvement in authoring the education portion of Project 2025. In this manual by the extremist Heritage Foundation, Dr. Burke is explicit about her thoughts on public education. She states that ‘federal education policy should be limited, and ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.’ This type of messaging is dangerous. Unfortunately, this school of thought is not exclusive to Dr. Burke or the Department of Education.

By placing extremists on public boards, the Governor is eroding the integrity of these organizations and facilitating the normalization of Trump’s MAGA ideology. Trump’s desire to ‘reign in bureaucrats’ and replace them with political appointees would destroy Virginia’s economy and the livelihoods of over 140,000 families. Replacing these civil servants with MAGA sycophants would not just be bad for Virginia but would eliminate decades of institutional knowledge from our Federal Government, creating chaos.

I urge Governor Youngkin to reconsider his affiliation with those who support the divisive policies promoted in Project 2025 and remove all associated appointees from their respective boards and committees. Our public institutions must be led by those who believe in the mission and place the success of these institutions above party or ideology. Dr. Burke has demonstrated her allegiance to party over public education and should be removed from George Mason’s Board of Visitors immediately.”