RICHMOND, Va. — Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger continues to stand up for Virginia’s economy, Virginians’ jobs, and Virginia families after the Trump administration laid off more than 4,000 federal workers last week — and as President Trump vows to unleash a second wave of mass firings this Friday.
Last night, Spanberger joined MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” to underscore the stakes of Virginia’s gubernatorial election. Spanberger made clear her focus on lowering costs for Virginia families and defending Virginia’s workforce and economy, while her opponent — Winsome Earle-Sears — outright refused to call on President Trump to stop the chaos during last week’s gubernatorial debate at Norfolk State University.
“We had the opportunity throughout that debate to demonstrate for the people of Virginia the stakes of this election. And we know the stakes of the election are whether or not we’re going to have a Governor who’s going to focus on lowering costs, which is the top issue I hear about everywhere I go — or a Governor who won’t,” said Spanberger. “Whether we’ll have a Governor who is going to stand up for Virginians, particularly those who are being impacted certainly by DOGE, but also by the ongoing ramifications of a shutdown and now this DOGE 2.0 effort that the President is undertaking — or a Governor who will not, who will defend those efforts as my opponent has.”
Spanberger also slammed Winsome Earle-Sears for saying that her support for firing someone from their job for being gay and her opposition to same-sex marriage are “not discrimination” during last week’s debate.
“As my opponent so very clearly said, not only is she in opposition to marriage equality, but she doesn’t even think it’s discrimination to fire someone for being gay,” said Spanberger. “The stakes of this election are very clear.”
BACKGROUND
Spanberger has made clear that leaders should be focused on lowering costs and making it more affordable to live — not killing Virginia jobs and damaging Virginia’s economy.
On Saturday, Spanberger called on President Trump “to stop attacking Virginia’s workforce, to focus on bringing people together, and to put an end to this government shutdown” as Virginians already face the consequences of DOGE cuts, tariffs, and threats to healthcare coverage.
As President Trump is escalating his attacks on Virginia jobs, Winsome Earle-Sears — Virginia’s sitting Lieutenant Governor — continues to fail to stand up for Virginia’s families, workforce, and economy.
Last week — during the statewide gubernatorial debate at Norfolk State University, Winsome Earle-Sears refused to call on President Trump to stop this chaos when asked directly by the moderators. That refusal comes after Earle-Sears said DOGE cuts and attacks on Virginia’s economy were not a “real issue” in a CNN interview earlier this year.
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