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On First Day of Primary Early Voting, Spanberger Encourages Virginians to Make Their Voices Heard

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lowkell
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From 2025 VA Democratic gubernatorial nominee, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger. So who are you voting for and when?

On First Day of Primary Early Voting, Spanberger Encourages Virginians to Make Their Voices Heard

Early Voting in Virginia’s Primary Elections Runs from Friday, May 2 Through Saturday, June 14

RICHMOND, Va. — Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger today released the following statement as early voting starts in Virginia’s 2025 primary elections.

“In the coming weeks, tens of thousands of Virginians will cast their votes in the Commonwealth’s June primary elections. I want to remind Virginians that your vote is your voice — casting a ballot is how you can directly contribute to realizing the future you want to see for your community.

“At this moment when the Commonwealth is facing unprecedented uncertainty, Virginians who believe — like I do — that Virginians deserve better have an opportunity to build strength and momentum. Getting out to vote over the next 45 days is the first step toward electing Democratic candidates up and down the ballot who will put Virginia’s schools, workforce, and economy first.

Today, I join all Virginians in thanking the election workers, law enforcement officers, and volunteers who keep our elections safe, secure, and successful. And to candidates across Virginia, I wish you the best of luck in your respective races.”

EARLY VOTING RESOURCES

Virginians can vote early, either in person or by mail, in the 2025 primary elections from Friday, May 2 through Saturday, June 14. Primaries are held on Tuesday, June 17.

If Virginians have questions about how to register to vote, they can click here for more information from the Virginia Department of Elections.

Virginians can click here to find their early voting location and operating hours.

Virginians looking to cast their ballot by mail can learn more by clicking here.

Video: Sen. Tim Kaine to El Salvador’s Government – “You might think it’s cute right now to grab attention by a bromance with President Trump,” But “We will remember this forever”

By
lowkell
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Sen. Tim Kaine, speaking yesterday with Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, had the following to say:

“Senator Van Hollen has an amazing track record and reputation as being a human rights champion, most recently standing up for the rule of law in the United States in the case of his constituent wrongfully deported via a Trump-era mistake to El Salvador with both the president of the United States and the president of El Salvador pretending that they don’t have the power to return him…

…this is not something that the article one branch can take lying down. When a president of the United States is flouting a 7 to 2 Supreme Court order and saying he doesn’t have the power to retract a mistake that his administration admits he’s made and thinks that’s the end of the story, we’re here to say that is not the end of the story.

There is a privileged motion that any senator can file, that Senator Van Hollen and I together with Senator Schumer and Senator Padilla are filing today, to force the State Department, the Trump administration, to issue a human rights report about El Salvador. This is a little-used privilege motion, but it’s designed like the other privileges are designed to enable the Article One branch to check executive overreach.

In this case, President Trump has facilitated the deportation of American residents, many here completely lawfully, to El Salvador without due process in some instances, people who are being deported by mistake as the administration admits. And the president has even gone beyond this and said that he would like to cut a deal to send US citizens to be imprisoned in El Salvador. So we are filing a resolution today under Section 502bc of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the State Department to issue a report on the situation about human rights in El Salvador, particularly the conditions in the prison where Americans are being held; whether El Salvador is taking steps together with the administration to facilitate compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling; are they interested in following the rule of law or not? This is a procedure where within 10 calendar days this becomes business of the Senate that we can take up, we are guaranteed a vote on it and we will seek a vote on it at a time that our leader Senator Schumer will negotiate with Senator Thune.

And I want to send a message not only to the administration, if you think you can take steps like this without Congress challenging your executive overreach you’re wrong. We’re going to challenge your overreach at every instance when we can. And I also send a message to the government of El Salvador: you might think it’s cute right now to grab attention by a bromance with President Trump. He’s going to be a president for poco mas, tres anos mas, pero el relación entre Los Estados Unidos y El Salvador es para siempre. And if you think we’ll forget you violating the human rights of American citizens, you’re wrong. We will remember this forever and there will be significant and challenging downstream consequences for any nation that violates the rights of Americans.

The followup for this report can include a privileged vote to terminate all security assistance to the nation of El Salvador, whether or not that’s the will of the body, we’ll see what the report has. But we’re going to put all of our colleagues on the record – if Americans are being sent in violation of the rule of law to El Salvador, we should all want to get a human rights report to see whether this nation is following the rule of law or not.”

Also:

“…The Alien Sedition Act was designed for a very particular purpose and like so many laws…we had a vote on tariffs last night,  that law allows a president to declare a state of emergency, but nothing in the law allows the imposition of tariffs essentially a tax, at the say-so of one person. So President Trump doesn’t really care about the law, but I’m glad that judges, even those appointed by President Trump, are standing up against him. We need courts, Congress, states, activism and elections to work together to check the tendencies toward tyranny in this presidency.”

Bingo.

Friday News: “Witch Hunt at the State Department”; Trump-Appointed Judge “Strikes Down Trump’s Use of Alien Enemies Act to Deport Venezuelans”; Trump Proposes Massive Cuts to “health research, climate and education programs”; Early Voting Starts with VA GOP in Turmoil

By
lowkell
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by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, May 2.

Video: Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) After Attending Hearing on Dr. Badar Khan Suri – “It is Kafkaesque when somebody can be kidnapped without reason, without acknowledgment, without logic, without charges”

By
lowkell
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0

This, of course, is many times more important than whatever’s happening with the (former) head of Glenn Youngkin’s PAC, yet it will probably get only a fraction of the attention.

Why do I say that? Because, quite simply, while the situation with Youngkin’s PAC might have a small impact on Youngkin’s political future, and possibly a small impact as well on this year’s Virginia governor’s race, the case that Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) talks about in the following video  – “Dr. Badar Khan Suri, who was detained without charges and imprisoned without due process in Texas, far from his wife and young children. He is in America legally, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown.” – is a threat to ALL of our liberties, to rule of law, to due process, to the constitution.

As Rep. Beyer says, “It is Kafkaesque when somebody can be kidnapped without reason, without acknowledgment, without logic, without charges, and taken off to be locked in a prison in Texas, not knowing what happens next.” It’s also very VERY dangerous, evil, unAmerican, you name it.  So…yeah, this is a LOT more important than whatever the latest insanity within the Virginia Republican Party happens to be…

Beyer Video Statement On Federal Court Hearing In Case Of Detained Georgetown Scholar Dr. Badar Khan Suri

May 1, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) – Rep. Don Beyer issued a video statement today after attending a hearing at the Eastern District of Virginia courthouse on the case of his constituent, Dr. Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University who lives in Arlington, Virginia, and who was in the country legally when he was detained without charges on orders from the Trump Administration in March. Beyer met with counsel for Dr. Suri yesterday in his Washington, D.C. office. A transcript of Beyer’s statement follows below.

Dr. Suri was detained in March by masked agents outside his home in Rosslyn, and moved to a series of prisons and detention centers, ultimately ending in Texas. He is still being held there today, over 1,300 miles away from his wife, who is a U.S. citizen, and three young children. According to Dr. Suri’s counsel, “His son spent days crying uncontrollably following his father’s disappearance, and has now stopped speaking.” Dr. Suri has never been charged with a crime and the government has never produced evidence that he did anything wrong.

In today’s hearing, Dr. Suri’s attorneys sought his return to Virginia, with Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles seeking further information from the government on their justification for moving him to Texas. The government claimed Dr. Suri was removed to Texas to prevent overcrowding at a Virginia detention center, yet, as Judge Giles pointed out, Suri had a room with a bed to himself in Virginia whereas, for the first 10 days of his detention in Texas Suri “was forced to sleep on the floor of the television room with the TV blaring nonstop and the lights on 24/7.”

Judge Giles gave the government 24 hours to answer questions about the transfer, with a further 24 hours for response from Dr. Suri’s legal team, and a ruling to follow next week.

Transcript of Rep. Beyer’s video statement:

“This is Congressman Don Beyer, representing Northern Virginia in the U.S. House, and it’s Thursday afternoon, May 1st. I’m here in front of the U.S. courthouse in Alexandria.

“I just spent two hours listening to, Judge Patricia Giles, and the arguments over Dr. [Badar] Khan Suri.

“He’s my constituent here legally in America. He’s a postdoc graduate student and teacher at Georgetown University working on conflict resolution.

“He was picked up, a little less than two months ago, late at night by three plain-clothes ICE agents [with] no identification, put in an unmarked car and whisked off to Chantilly, to Farmville, to Chesterfield and then Richmond, to Louisiana, and finally to Texas.

“We’re here today because his lawyers are making the case that he should never have been taken from Virginia when a writ of habeas corpus had been filed.

“I’m very upset by this. Dr. [Suri] – no one has accused him of doing anything wrong. More than anything else, this is a great example – another sad example of the Trump administration’s attempt to instill fear and repression into our college campuses and to immigrants, or people with voices they don’t like, across this country.

“We have to fight back. We have to resist. I’ll be doing everything I can to help Dr. [Suri] and his family, and I encourage each one of us to do all that we can to tell these stories, to help educate the American people about what’s happening, and this threat to our Constitution, to our rights.

“It is Kafkaesque when somebody can be kidnapped without reason, without acknowledgment, without logic, without charges, and taken off to be locked in a prison in Texas, not knowing what happens next.”

Rozia Henson, the First Openly Gay Black Man Elected to the VA House of Delegates, Says He’s “‘morally opposed’ to the Lieutenant Governor’s demonstration of poor leadership” (After News of Her Comments on Being “morally opposed” to Marriage Equality)

By
lowkell
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1

See below for a press release from Del. Rozia Henson (D-HD19; parts of Fairfax/Prince William), who was “elected as the first openly gay Black man to the Virginia House of Delegates in November 2023,” regarding “the news of Lt. Governor Earle-Sears’ handwritten note on the enrolled version of HB 174 (Marriage lawful regardless of sex, gender, or race of parties; issuance of marriage license).” According to Earle-Sears, “I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly.” In response, Del. Henson says *he* is “‘morally opposed’ to the Lieutenant Governor’s demonstration of poor leadership.” Exactly!

DELEGATE HENSON “MORALLY OPPOSED” TO LT. GOVERNOR EARLE-SEARS’ POOR LEADERSHIP

WOODBRIDGE, VA — A recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request has uncovered a note on the enrolled version of House Bill 174 written by Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears detailing her “moral opposition” to marriage license protections for same-sex relationships. HB 174 — introduced by Delegate Rozia Henson (D-Prince William) during the Virginia General Assembly’s 2024 Legislative Session — added affirmative language to the Virginia Code that guarantees the issuance of marriage licenses without regard to sex, gender, or race of the two adults seeking to enter into a marriage.

The release of this note follows news of Governor Glenn Youngkin asking John Reid, the openly gay Republican nominee for Virginia lieutenant governor, to drop out of the race and cancelling a previously scheduled GOP unity rally in Henrico County in support of the Virginia Republican Party’s statewide slate of candidates. While Reid still held his own rally in Henrico, Earle-Sears did not attend or offer any form of public support to the Republican nominee.

“LGBTQ+ Virginians have long-experienced the Republican Party’s ‘moral opposition’ to the LGBTQ+ community through years and years of opposition to LGBTQ+ equality,” said Delegate Henson. “This is only one reason — of an increasingly longer and longer list of many reasons — why we must elect Abigail Spanberger as Virginia’s next governor in November.”

“Furthermore, I am ‘morally opposed’ to the Lieutenant Governor’s demonstration of poor leadership,” adds Delegate Henson. “Unable to unify her own team, and unable to publicly support the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor at his own rally, Earle-Sears seems more interested in burning bridges than building them.”

Delegate Henson was elected as the first openly gay Black man to the Virginia House of Delegates in November 2023. Representing Fairfax and Prince William Counties, his first legislative term began in January 2024 and remains ongoing. Delegate Henson currently serves as the Deputy Whip of the Virginia House Democratic Caucus, as the Vice-Chair of the General Assembly’s LGBTQ+ Caucus, and is a member of the House Committees on Privileges and Elections, Health and Human Services, and Communications, Technology, and Innovation.

Delegate Henson has not yet endorsed any candidate for Lieutenant Governor in Virginia’s 2025 election cycle.

Led by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11), House Oversight Dems Demand Musk’s Financial Disclosure, SF-86, etc. to “Examine His Conflicts of Interest and Liabilities, Including Ties to China and Russia”

By
lowkell
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0

Good stuff from Rep. Gerry Connolly, Ranking Democratic Member on the House Oversight Committee:

Oversight Democrats Escalate Investigation into Elon Musk’s Conflicts of Interest and Demand Mr. Musk’s Financial Disclosure
Washington, D.C. (May 1, 2025)— Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led Oversight Democrats in sending a letter to White House Counsel David Warrington requesting documents and information regarding Elon Musk’s conflicts of interest, including his financial disclosure.  Yesterday, the Committee released 100 conflicts of interest on President Trump’s 100th day in office, with Mr. Musk appearing prominently on the list.  Last month, Committee Democrats launched investigations into Musk’s glaring conflicts of interest and federal contracts at the White House, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Transportation.  The Trump Administration has stonewalled the Committee’s efforts to investigate Mr. Musk’s conflicts of interest and broader patterns of corruption across the Administration.

“We write regarding the scope of duties Elon Musk is undertaking as a special government employee (SGE) and the deeply alarming conflicts of interest presented by his expansive position.  In an unprecedented arrangement, President Donald Trump has bestowed expansive and unlawful authority to Mr. Musk, an unelected billionaire.  Mr. Musk is redirecting billions of taxpayer dollars to fund his own financial interests while slashing federal employees, programs, and services on which all Americans depend.  Mr. Musk also remains in charge of a sprawling private-sector business empire that continues to rely on billions of dollars in government funding and has been charged with managing his own conflicts of interest.  The Trump Administration has failed to make public Mr. Musk’s financial disclosure filings, hiding the true extent of his conflicts from the public,” wrote the Members.

In their letter, the Members highlight that federal employees may not participate in government matters in which they have a financial interest, noting an exception of this provision if the employee has made a full disclosure of the financial interest and received—in advance—a determination that the interest is either remote or insubstantial enough that it would be unlikely to affect the integrity of the employee’s work.

However, Mr. Musk has substantial financial interests such as federal contracts in the aerospace, telecommunications, automotive, and biotechnology industries worth billions of dollars.

“In recognition of Mr. Musk’s elevated role in your Administration, we request that he immediately complete a public financial disclosure, as is generally required for employees occupying positions equivalent to those of a member of the Senior Executive Service.  This disclosure will provide important transparency to the American people about the interests of a government employee with enormous influence over the use of their tax dollars,” concluded the Members.

On March 4, 2025, after repeated stonewalling by the Administration and disinterest by Committee Republicans, Ranking Member Connolly led Committee Democrats in introducing a Resolution of Inquiry to investigate Elon Musk’s extensive conflicts of interest and entrenched corruption within the Trump Administration.

Click here to read the letter to White House Counsel David Warrington.

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Committee Democrats Demand Elon Musk’s SF-86 and Other Background Investigation Documents to Examine his Conflicts of Interest and Liabilities, Including Ties to China and Russia
 
Washington, D.C. (May 1, 2025)—Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led Committee Democrats in sending letters to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and FBI Director Kash Patel demanding information about Elon Musk’s ties to foreign governments like China and Russia, Musk’s growing treasure chest of government contracts awarded to his companies, the history of his drug use, and potential liabilities that would make him vulnerable to coercion and corruption.

“The Democratic Members of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform are conducting an investigation into Elon Musk, special government employee and senior adviser to President Donald Trump, and the extensive ties he has to China, Russia, and other foreign governments and officials,” wrote Ranking Member Connolly. “Given the vast and growing number of government contracts awarded to Mr. Musk and his companies, including from the Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)—as well as the multiple conflicts of interest arising from them—the Democratic Members of the Committee are interested in whether he has fully disclosed all connections, interactions, payments, and business with foreign governments and officials.”Ranking Member Connolly asked that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and FBI Director Kash Patel provide all requested documents by May 15, 2025.

Last month, Committee Democrats launched investigations into Musk’s glaring conflicts of interest and federal contracts at the White House, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

On March 4, 2025, after repeated stonewalling by the Administration and disinterest by Committee Republicans, Ranking Member Connolly led Committee Democrats in introducing a Resolution of Inquiry to investigate Elon Musk’s extensive conflicts of interest and entrenched corruption within the Trump Administration.

Click here to read the letters to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and FBI Director Kash Patel.

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Ranking Member Connolly Opposes OPM’s Scheme to Purge and Politicize the Federal Workforce
 
Washington, D.C. (May 1, 2025)—Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Charles Ezell, Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), opposing OPM’s plan to strip civil servants of protections to escalate the Administration’s political purge of the civil service.  The Administration is engaged in a rapid and sweeping effort to purge the federal workforce through mass terminations of new or recently transferred employees, scam resignation offers, efforts to replace career professionals with partisan loyalists, attempts to eliminate entire agencies, and general threats of mass firings based on arbitrary decrees from Elon Musk.  The Administration’s concerted attacks on federal employees will politicize the delivery of life-saving services and grind the essential functions of our government to a halt.  When that happens, it is going to be the American people who suffer most.

“I write in strong opposition to the recent Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposed rule to purge and politicize the nonpartisan federal workforce by reclassifying more than 50,000 federal employees under Schedule Policy/Career.  The Administration’s proposed rule has bipartisan opposition in Congress, because of the devastation it would inflict on the expertise and performance of our federal workforce, which would in turn hurt our constituents and the life-saving services they need and deserve,” wrote Ranking Member Connolly. “I strongly urge the Administration to rescind the proposed rule and cease its political assault on our federal workforce. Also, be forewarned: the Administration’s full-scale executive power grab through unlawful and other means, of which this rule is a part, is increasingly clear to the American people and risks an immense public backlash with serious political consequences for the Administration and Congressional Republicans.”

For decades, both Republican and Democratic administrations have relied on the institutional knowledge and expertise of impartial career federal employees to ensure constituents and communities get the services they need and deserve from government. Civil service protections allow the federal government to recruit and retain an expert federal workforce free from political pressures and threats, and the protections ensure experienced civil servants will not be replaced with inexperienced partisan loyalists.

OPM’s proposed rule to reclassify tens of thousands of career federal employees under a proposed Schedule Policy/Career would allow experienced civil servants to be terminated, not on merit, but for political reasons. This weakens the federal workforce, making it difficult to retain experienced staff and rewarding federal employees for political loyalty rather than their knowledge and experience.

“Nonpartisan civil servants, 30% of whom are veterans, help families in the wake of hurricanes and deadly fires, facilitate access to lifesaving payments like Social Security and unemployment insurance, and protect our national security.  This rule would allow the Trump Administration to summarily terminate a veteran who devoted their post-service career to the federal government and replace them with a 20-something political operative whose primary qualification is unquestioned fealty to the MAGA movement.  Reclassifying nonpartisan federal employees so they can be replaced with President Trump’s inexperienced loyalists will undermine public service and jeopardize the well-being and safety for all Americans,” concluded Ranking Member Connolly.

Ranking Member Connolly strongly urged OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell to stop his efforts to purge and politicize our federal workforce, and requested a briefing on OPM’s proposed rule on Schedule Policy/Career by May 15, 2025.

Click here to read the letter to OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell.

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Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says “I believe things will get better, but boy oh boy it has been a rough first quarter for America”

By
lowkell
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0

See below for video and highlights from Sen. Mark Warner’s weekly press availability (bolding by me for emphasis of key points):

  • “…the alternative realities that are taking place literally playing out on your screens. This was on full display yesterday…There was a cabinet meeting… bizarre would be an understatement. It was a cabinet meeting that would have been more appropriate coming out of North Korea than out of Washington DC….literally every cabinet member went around and had to pay accolades to the Great Leader and say how wonderful Donald Trump has been and will be.”
  • “Well that’s one world. But in the real world where Americans and Virginiaians live, the results are absolutely counter. There’s never been an American president that at least in the last 50 plus years that has lost more popularity quicker than Donald Trump. We saw yesterday the economy for the first time in I believe four years literally shrunk in size. Awful economic news… the stock market for the first quarter has performed the worst since 1974. And that’s before we see the full effects of this completely misguided tariff policy where I hear from Virginia small businesses in particular how their businesses will be disrupted…And remember, these tariffs are taxes on American families. And in a rare moment of truthfulness yesterday Donald Trump said ‘Well maybe Americans won’t be able to buy toys for Christmas and only have two dolls and they may cost a few dollars more.’ It may have been the first honest comment by Donald Trump about what his policies are doing to the economy. Remember, the vast majority of Americans who voted for Mr Trump did so because they thought he was going to bring prices down. The opposite has taken place. Prices have gone up. He has literally burnt bridges with friends and allies around the world…”
  • “And strangely enough the one country that didn’t get tariffed at all was Russia. This strange relationship between Trump and Putin frankly defies any kind of policy that any American president has had since the end of the Second World War.”
  • “As I was walking in, I received news that a couple of reports have confirmed we’ll see that the National Security Adviser and his top deputy…are being either fired or resigning. This is something I’ve called for since the egregious misuse of classified information on the Signal chat that were information about American military efforts in the Middle East, were put on this unsecured commercial channel that frankly if it had gotten out and been captured by our adversaries, we very well probably would have lost flyers…Now it’s appropriate that Waltz is leaving, but what we really need to see is Pete Hegseth the Secretary of Defense resign as well. This is a guy who’s so incompetent and so unprepared for this job that literally he has the whole Pentagon in chaos and I believe is undermining the faith in that institution and undermining the morale of our troops all across the world. And I would remind folks as well this is a secretary of defense that strangely enough has his wife, his brother and his lawyer all on DoD payroll. How this is not kind of nepotism beyond belief…Hegseth needs to go. I believe…the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, needs to go as well. She repeatedly attacks and undermines the credibility of the intelligence community workforce, usually on right-wing media and almost on a regular basis. I’ve never seen a director of
    national intelligence appear on media as many times as she has literally in the first 100 days. And again these comments not only in many places are unfounded, but they are undermining the credibility and the morale of the intelligence workforce.”
  • “As the former chair and now vice chair of the intelligence committee, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t hear from the men and women who help defend our nation as members of the intelligence community that aren’t feeling that they are under attack, that their credibility and work product is being questioned on a regular basis. And we’re seeing our country become frankly less safe because of this…If we really want to make America safer we need a defense secretary and a director of national intelligence that can actually earn the respect of the men and women who serve to protect our country. So Waltz has gone if these press reports are correct. Hegesth should go and should have been fired or resigned earlier…”
  • “So I think the American public is seeing what’s happening,  the fact that in the polling yesterday, literally half of Americans gave Trump a failing grade already. Again, no president has seen their popularity slide as quickly as Mr. Trump.“
  • “…there’s also been reports and we’re trying to investigate
    this, that some of the countries who have been trying to seek tariff relief have been directed as they come to Washington to go visit Elon Musk and his DOGE efforts. Why you would have to go see Mr. Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, to see if you can get tariff relief? What what does his DOGE effort have to do with tariffs? Well, it appears there have been reports that these countries are basically being almost extorted to be required to sign up for Mr. Musk’s satellite services if they want to get any kind of tariff relief and that some of these activities are literally taking place from Mr. Musk’s office in the White House. We need to run this to ground. But if if this is true will this finally be the kind of gross corruption in plain sight that you might expect from some third world country but you would not come to expect from the United States of America.”
  • “…the chaos and in some places just plain cruelty that is coming out of this administration is is breathtaking in its scope.“
  • “I spent a week in Southwest Virginia during the break and  that part of the Commonwealth supported Mr Trump at record levels, and I heard from virtually every community huge concerns about some of these Trump policies.”
  • “The only way Trump has been able to put these tariffs in place in the first place because it is literally Congress’s responsibility in the Constitution to do trade policy and to impose tariffs. Trump has declared these national emergencies, and in the case for example of Canada, the Senate agreed by majority vote that there was not that
    kind of emergency with Canada. I think the same will play out on the overall emergencies that are being used to declare these tariffs, particularly on our allies around the world. It was
    unfortunate that two senators were not present yesterday…so when they return, we’re going to try to find a way to bring this back up on the floor of the Senate. And this is one of the areas I can tell you, I probably spoke to a half a dozen Senate Republicans yesterday who voted against the resolution but were hoping it would pass. Time and again from my Republican colleagues, whether it’s tariffs, whether it’s this gross mishandling of classified information or the firing of the NSA general where my Republican friends particularly those who serve on the intelligence committee have said ‘Gosh this is awful what Trump is doing and what this administration is doing.’ And they they privately privately commend me virtually every day to say ‘Mark keep making this case.’ Well I hope and pray for the sake of our country that they will stop giving me private reassurances or private assurances to Tim that he’s doing the right thing and find their voice, find their courage. If they really believe these things, don’t tell me privately, stand up on the floor of the Senate and vote your conscience. I believe that will come as the president’s numbers continue to decline. But it’s been pretty disheartening for this first 100 days that many of them have been fearful because not only the retribution that Trump tries to extract on anyone that goes against him but also candidly the ability of Elon Musk with his 200 million followers to literally threaten people. I’ve had a couple Republican senators who’ve had to hire personal security for their families because they have been attacked by Elon Musk on his Twitter account. That leads the crazies to take action threatening families. And again this is not a hypothetical; think about what happened just a couple
    weeks ago during the first night of Passover, when an individual in Pennsylvania firebombed the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion. And I believe these actions are incented by oftentimes some of the commentary that takes place on social media and a lot of this generated by Elon Musk.”
  • “…China feels they have the upper hand at this point; China believes that they can withstain the pain of tariffs longer than America. And by the virtue of what Trump has done, by putting these tariffs on so many of our allies…what Trump’s actions are doing are literally pushing countries that had moved away from China to go ahead and actually do more trade with China because they believe that China is a more stable and reliable partner than the United States of America. Just let that sink in for a moment – that China is a more reliable partner and a more stable partner than the United States of America. And some of this damage can’t be undone even if we see, as I expect we will, reversals by Trump as he realizes that these tariffs are cutting into America’s purchasing power and going to raise prices…”
  • “I’ve had conversations with the new prime minister of Canada. His view about America has changed dramatically…who could imagine Canada as an enemy? But it’ll be a long long time before our neighbors to the north, the Canadians, will buy American products the way they used to. So some of this damage can’t be reversed…So there’s a reason that basically half of the Americans gave Trump an F, a total failing grade, for his first 3 months in office.”
  • “…These federal workers in many areas, if you are an air traffic controller or an FAA expert, there’s not a lot of similar jobs in local government or state government…It’s cruel, it doesn’t save money and we are getting more data out alread that that so far even if you look at Musk’s claims that about $150 billion in savings, now a lot of that data has been  rebutted, but it’s already been documented as well that his actions have cost the American taxpayers about $135
    billion in shutting down programs and then having to rehire people in terms of the kind of chaos and disruption of services….This chainsaw approach to cuts and Trump and Musk’s complete lack of empathy towards our federal workers um has really been a disaster.”
  • “When you are so in such economic duress that you’re not willing or not able to send your kid to college, that shows the kind of effect particularly that we’re seeing in Northern Virginia… If some of the cuts continue as stupidly as they’ve been laid out, we’re going to see these same kind of effects across Virginia and across our nation… Hampton Roads will feel this effect as well.”
  • “I’m also spending an awful lot of time trying to convince and urge my Republican friends, there are many Republican senators I know care deeply about national security or concerned in their own states about the effects of these tariffs. They just have to find the courage to speak and vote the way they talk to me and others privately. I believe this will change, I believe things will get better, but boy oh boy it has been a rough first quarter for America, not only on the economic front but literally on the global front as again countries around the world reassess us.”

Glenn Youngkin Dismisses Economic Pain Trump is Causing Virginians, Justifying Attacks on Workforce

By
Blue Virginia
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0

From DPVA:

Glenn Youngkin Dismisses Economic Pain Trump is Causing Virginians, Justifying Attacks on Workforce

Republican Nominee Winsome Earle-Sears refused to comment

This week, following alarming reports from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showing the sharpest economic downturn since the pandemic, and a forecast from the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center predicting the loss of over 30,000 jobs across the Commonwealth due to Trump’s mass firings, Governor Glenn Youngkin downplayed the real economic hardship facing Virginians.

Rather than attempting to save Virginia’s jobs or even acknowledge the thousands of families affected by job losses or at risk of losing their livelihoods, Youngkin dismissed them, saying that other sources of revenue will “offset” job losses.

“Governor Youngkin’s response is as callous as it is out of touch,” said DPVA Chairman Lamont Bagby. “Virginia families are fearing for their livelihoods, struggling with rising costs, and watching their economic security slip away — and instead of offering solutions, Youngkin is blatantly dismissing their pain. It’s clear he’s more focused on defending Donald Trump’s failed economic agenda than protecting the livelihoods of the Virginians he was elected to serve.”

Radio IQ/WVTF: New reports suggest U.S., Virginia economies are slowing

By: Brad Kutner

  • “Virginia’s economy is on track to contract by the end of 2025, and new numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showed the U.S. economy declined in the first quarter of 2025. That’s according to a pair of new reports released this week.”
  • “Here’s economist Eric Scorsone with the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center speaking to a quarterly economic forecast for the Commonwealth the center released this week.”
  • “‘We project the state of Virginia to lose about 30,000 jobs over the course of 2025 primarily due to federal government cuts,’ Scorsone said.”
  • “If the job losses come to pass, that would put Virginia in a mild recession.”
  • “[…] Governor Glenn Youngkin shrugged off the bad news. In a statement sent to Radio IQ Wednesday, his office said, ‘Virginia’s economy remains strong,’ and pointed to a likely increase in military spending that would offset federal job losses in the Commonwealth.”
  • “[…] As for President Donald Trump, he took to social media early Wednesday to blame the bad economic news on former President Joe Biden saying, ‘tariffs will soon start to kick in, and companies are starting to move into the USA in record numbers.’”
  • “Virginia Beach Democratic Delegate Alex Askew was less thrilled at the idea of more tariffs. He said they’d likely increase costs for Virginians.”
  • “‘Every dollar spent on higher prices is a dollar not spent at local restaurants, local daycare or a local small business trying to survive,’ Askew warned.”
  • “Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Abigail Spanberger was similarly less optimistic about Trump’s tariff plans.”
  • “‘Virginia’s leaders have a fundamental responsibility to put Virginia first — not swear an unfaltering allegiance to DOGE and President Trump at the expense of Virginia’s economic strength,’ a spokesperson for her campaign told Radio IQ. ‘Virginians deserve a governor who will always put them first.’”
  • “Requests for comment on both reports sent to Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earl-Seares were not returned.”

Fmr. VA LG Bill Bolling (R) on Winsome Earle-Sears’ Statement re: John Reid Controversy: “Say what? I’m not really sure what this statement means.”

By
lowkell
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10

Former VA Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a conservative Republican and Trump voter, nails it on Winsome Earle-Sears’ rambling statement (see below) about the intra-GOP civil war over John Reid, Glenn Youngkin, etc. Bolling is confused, as are most of us, about what Earle-Sears is saying:

“I’m not really sure what this statement means…Does Winsome Sears support John Reid’s position? Does she reject the allegation that Reid had posted sexually explicit images of gay men on a Tumblr site? Will Winsome Sears campaisn along side John Reid? Will they make join appearances and run as a Republican team?”

And, Bolling states, “It is hard to measure the damage done by this unfortuante situation, but it is significant…It has also done significant damage to Governor Youngkin within the GOP.”

Great stuff if you’re a Virginia Democrat, of course, but not so much if you’re a Virginia Republican, given that the Republican ticket was already facing a major uphill battle given that Trump’s in the White House (and Virginia almost ALWAYS votes opposite for governor of the party in the White House), Trump’s VERY unpopular in Virginia, Abigail Spanberger is a super-strong candidate, etc. Plus, of course, this Republican ticket is either THE most extreme or second-most extreme in Virginia history, with the possible exception of the 2013 “Extreme Team” ticket of Ken Cuccinelli, EW Jackson and Mark Obenshain. And no, Virginia voters are almost certainly NOT going to go for that in November…

SEARS ISSUES STATEMENT ON JOHN REID
After days of waiting, Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle Sears has finally issued a statement on the John Reid controversy. This is her statement, verbatim:

“President Lincoln said, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ Those biblical words from Matthew 12:25 embody the positive mission of our campaign — to unite and inspire Virginians of all backgrounds. This week, focus on the lieutenant governor nominee distracted from that mission and cannot continue. John Reid is the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor. It is his race, and his decision alone to move forward. We all have our own race to run. I am going to continue to make the case to the people of Virginia that Abigail Spanberger will tear down all the successes we’ve made in Virginia. We cannot let that happen. Our campaign is focused on results, unity, and winning in November.”

Say what? I’m not really sure what this statement means.

Does Winsome Sears support Governor Youngkin’s position? Does she personally believe that John Reid should withdraw from the campaign?

Does Winsome Sears support John Reid’s position? Does she reject the allegation that Reid had posted sexually explicit images of gay men on a Tumblr site?

Will Winsome Sears campaisn along side John Reid? Will they make join appearances and run as a Republican team?

In parsing Ms. Sears statement, it appears as though she is acknowledging that Mr. Reid cannot be forced from the ticket, but otherwise trying to not take a position on the matter, vowing to run her own campaign, indpendent of Mr. Reid’s campaign.

Thus, the awkwardness of this situation continues.

At this point, we can only assume there are no other shoes to fall. That no one can prove that the Tumblr site in question was in fact John Reid’s site or that he posted inappropriate images to this site. Certainly, no one has provided positive proof to the contrary. Just implicaitons.

If that is the case, why not acknowledge that, rally behind Mr. Reid, and move forward as a turly united ticket?

It is hard to measure the damage done by this unfortuante situation, but it is significant.

It may have actually strengthened Mr. Reid’s support among his strongest allies. It certainly has boosted his name identification!

But it may have damaged Reid with the evangelical base of the Republican Party and voters in some rural parts of Virginia, where Republicans must run strong to have any chance of winning a statewide campaign.

It has also done significant damage to Governor Youngkin within the GOP, with many Reid supporters now publicly turning on the Governor, who they believe jumped the shark in calling for Reid to drop out of the campaign.

It’s still very early in this campaign, and perhaps it will all blow over in time, barring some further revelations. But it does not seem as though the sides are going to be able to bury the hatchet and emerge as a truly united front. That’s unfortunate, espeically if you are a Republican.

Thursday News: “US and Ukraine sign minerals deal”; “US is weeks away from pandemic-like supply chain disruptions from tariffs”; “Trump to Kids: Say Goodbye to Your Toys!”; Kamala Harris Excoriates Trump; “Youngkin aide defends against extortion claim by Lt. Gov. nominee”

By
lowkell
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0

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, May 1.

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