Yesterday and this morning, Gov. Abigail Spanberger pushed back against much of the criticism that’s been leveled at her in recent weeks for her amendments, vetoes, as well as the holdup on reaching a budget deal (the deadline on that is June 30). So now, the powerful VA Senate Finance and Appropriations Chair, Sen. Louise Lucas, is firing back (see screenshot below). But first, here are a few key points that Gov. Spanberger has made recently, and to which Sen. Lucas is now responding:
- In an interview with Tevin Davis, Gov. Spanberger argued that General Assembly Democrats had rejected what she believed to be crucial amendments to make the proposed new laws work properly, and while that’s their right, it’s also her right to then veto the bills. Gov. Spanberger also described herself as “a fine-tooth-comb, detail-oriented person” who “want[s] to get it right,” not just sign bills to “make everyone happy,” even if that would be “easier,” but that she’s carrying “the weight of responsibility of decisions that will impact 8.8 million people.” Gov. Spanberger also noted that, she’s “a one-term governor, so everything I’m doing right now, if I don’t implement it right, in some ways it would be easy to just say okay, let’s just do all these things because it won’t be on me if something goes sideways or if I don’t do it well. ” But the bottom line for her is that “every decision I make and every time I make somebody happy or mad or anywhere in between, it is because I believe that I am doing the right thing.”
- Then this morning in the Cardinal News, Gov. Spanberger was quoted (from an interview last week) as stressing that ” the devil’s in the details, so I pay attention to the details”; asking rhetorically, “Do people want me to sign a bill or do people want me to get it right?” and “Just because there’s a governor and legislature of the same party now, ‘Does that mean that I’m supposed to just accept and sign any bill?'” Also interesting, Gov. Spanberger was asked “if she felt gender was a factor in any of the problems she’s had with the legislature,” and she replied, ” I don’t know and I can’t say that definitively. I will say that quite a few legislators who have privately spoken to me with outrage about conversations they’ve been a part of, or things they have heard, believe that’s the case.”
- Finally, in this morning’s Richmond Times-Dispatch, Gov. Spanberger sent a “blunt message to Senate Dem leadership”, declaring, “The idea that you would basically do kind of Russian roulette with our budget, or a game of chicken with the state’s budget … that is an abuse of the process.”
So after all that, it’s not surprising to see Senate Finance and Appropriations Chair Sen. Louise Lucas respond – as follows:
- “That’s the budget hold up!! Once again, the Governor is wrong on the policy and knows Virginians will cook her if there is a government shutdown. Also still waiting on your reforecast?”
- “The Governor should be honest and tell the public what she won’t do – she won’t tax billion dollar corporations to provide long term revenue to help pay for K12 and public safety and to backfill the federal cuts from Trump.”
- “The Governor and the House are the ones that are gambling with our future by allowing the data centers to expand without concern for power, water, or paying their fair share of taxes.”
- “You have gotta be kidding me! There is a record number of women in the GA and four of them are in leadership and a woman LG, yet you think this is all about you! Okay, you thought it to be a great idea but just remember, you started this mess!”
Also worth noting, Ben Tribbett – who is very close to Sen. Lucas – tweeted, “This [Spanberger’s comment about “Russian roulette with our budget”] is a HUGE change in message from what Sec Sickles said at Senate Finance. He implied everything vetoed was on the table to be negotiated in the budget. Now Spanberger is saying its not. If the Gov’s own team can’t understand her positions how does she expect others to?”
I haven’t seen any comments yet from VA Speaker Don Scott, VA Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, but I’ll update this post if/when I do. Also, it will be interesting to see how Gov. Spanberger and her team handle this; the bottom line is that, whether they like each other or not, Gov. Spanberger and the Democratic-controlled General Assembly are stuck with each other at least through 2027, and quite likely through Gov. Spanberger’s entire four years in office, so they’re going to have to reach some modus vivendi, one would think…or if not, it could be a loooong four years!
