In fact, this should be a MEDICAL decision by MEDICAL professionals in close coordination with the PARENTS/FAMILY. Instead, anti-transgender Republicans like Donald Trump and Jason Miyares want the *government* to be making these decisions. Also, calling it “chemical and surgical mutilation of children” and threatening “hospitals and institutions that continue to mutilate children” with “significant legal risk” and “substantial financial exposure” seems just a wee bit over the top. In fact:
“Trans minors are treated on a case-by-case basis and are legally required to receive their parents’ or guardian’s consent to receive any medical intervention.”
” Before a child starts puberty, medical standards developed by WPATH and other medical organizations recommend that a child receive therapy and social transition, or changing their hairstyle, clothing, name and pronouns.”
“Once a child begins puberty, they may start puberty blockers if they have persistent gender dysphoria, which is the medical term for the severe emotional distress caused by the misalignment between one’s gender identity and birth sex. Teenagers might start hormone therapy, and, in rare cases, some older teens may receive a double mastectomy, where both breasts are removed. “
Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA04), speaking on CNN last night (see video and a partial transcript/highlights, below):
“Absolutely not [the right time for Trump to attack DEI, etc.]. And first of all, what he should have done is what I want to do right now, and that is to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family members who are still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones, a hearty thank you to the first responders who have been working to recover those bodies under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. That is what the American people needed yesterday – to hear our leader to provide comfort and not to speculate and to bring out his favorite boogeyman, as you said, and to jump to conclusions that Black people or women working at the FAA caused this tragedy.”
“Because what he always does is, rather than looking at the facts, rather than being responsible and letting the investigation happen, look at what actually caused this accident and then do something to make sure that something like this never happens again, he takes this opportunity to politicize it and to stoke division in this country,which he’s been doing since day one of this administration and since he first ran for president nine years ago.”
“[Having air traffic controllers take a “buyout”] would have a huge impact on what we already have as a shortage. And you already have workers that are stressed and trying to meet the needs to keep the American people safe. He also ousted the head of the FAA and has created chaos since he’s come into office. What we need right now is to let the NTSB do its job to find out what cause or causes occurred to lead to this tragedy, and then we need to take action to make sure that something like this never happens again.”
“All of the Democratic members of the Virginia delegation have been speaking out for a long time, that this airport is already too congested. You’ve talked about the complicated traffic patterns here. We all asked our committees not to put new slots in. We all voted against the bill for that very reason.”
“If this administration takes the responsible road and says, we are going to look at the facts, we are going to look at what actually caused this tragedy and act to make sure it never happens again. But they’ve shown from day one they’re not interested in helping people and solving problems. They are interested in stoking chaos and division. They are interested in retribution against their political enemies. But that is not what the American people want. That is not what they expect of their leaders in a moment like this.”
“That is part of what the Army and the NTSB will work together with all of the relevant agencies to determine. They are going to look at the people involved, the equipment involved, and the atmosphere involved to see was it human error? Was it equipment? Was it confusion because of the congestion here? And so I trust the Army and the NTSB and all of our federal partners and everyone involved to look at the facts. And then if they see changes that need to be made, to bring that to Congress’ attention and we all act.”
Sen. Mark Warner on MSNBC with Lawrence O’Donnell last night: “I’m obviously going to vote against [Tulsi Gabbard for DNI], I’m going to encourage all of my members on the committee, I don’t care which party they belong to, that this is not the appropriate person that will, on judgment, will make the right judgment calls about protecting the men and women of our intelligence committee.”
See below for video and a partial transcript of what Sen. Warner had to say last night…
“I’m really proud of this committee. I was chairman for a number of years. I’ve been vice chairman and vice chairman again, and i think we’re the last functioning bipartisan committee in the Senate. And we approached national security as not a D or an R issue. And it was extraordinary today. We asked a simple question. I actually gave Ms. Gabbard, and i respect her service to our country as a legislator and in the military. It’s not about that. It’s about judgment. But at this point in time, after the guy who leaked the most amount of our national secrets, did more to undermine our national security than virtually anyone in modern times, if you can’t call him out as a traitor, as a traitor, she wouldn’t even respond to my questions, saying she would not respond and say he’s not brave or she had a bill to pardon him. And I think a lot of us, you know, I’m obviously going to vote against her, I’m going to encourage all of my members on the committee, I don’t care which party they belong to, that this is not the appropriate person that will, on judgment, will make the right judgment calls about protecting the men and women of our intelligence committee. But also, Lawrence, one of the things, we get about half our intelligence from our allies around the world, there’s no requirement that they share that with us. They share that on trust. If this individual can’t say Edward Snowden, who shared our secrets and other secrets, is a traitor, will these other countries, our Five Eyes partners, partners around the world, will Israel’s Mossad share that information with us on an ongoing basis? That will make us weaker if they don’t share that. And candidly, what message would that send to the men and women of the intelligence committee who don’t get the admiration oftentimes that our military gets, because they do this candidly in a circumspect way, they’re not recognized, nobody buys them lunch. If you’re not willing to stand up for them, if you’re not willing to send out a signal. This role of director of national intelligence, you’ve got 18 agencies, $100 billion, if you’re not willing to call out Edward Snowden as a traitor, you shouldn’t have that job.”
“I had huge concerns going into this hearing. I kind of feel like as a guy that used to be in the business world, you know, these hearings are kind of an effective job interview, and I felt like I needed to let Ms. Gabbard make her case, both in the open hearing and in the closed hearing. We had a couple hours afterwards in a classified setting. I had huge concerns. My concerns went up both in open and closed. And I’m happy to tell you and your audience tonight that I will definitely be voting against Ms. Gabbard and encouraging Democrats, Republicans, anyone who cares about protecting the sources and methods of how the intelligence community does its job, how we stand up against authoritarian nations like Russia and China, how we also protect people’s civil rights, civil liberty, rights, yes. But anyone, I don’t believe that, you know, Edward Snowden was a brave whistleblower the way Ms. Gabbard, you know, described him or I don’t believe that he should be pardoned. I believe, like almost everyone on this committee, that he was a traitor and her unwillingness to acknowledge that…I’ve talked to some of my Republican colleagues, I’ve talked to my Democratic colleagues, you know, if we can’t stand the line on this part of national security, where will we draw the line?”
“There’s enormous pressure from the administration to support these nominees. And I give enormous credit to folks who stood up against the Secretary of Defense. And we’ve got a series of other individuals that make me really pause…I think about some of our Republican friends, I mean, they kept giving her a lifeline. Just call out this guy for who he is, say that you reject this kind of activity. And unfortunately, she wouldn’t do that.”
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, January 31. One month into 2025, and it’s going just great, huh?
Donald Trump’s Cabinet of Revenge (“Tulsi Gabbard, Kash Patel, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., bobbed and weaved around senators’ questions, but their own words came back to bite them.”)
Gabbard’s Hearing Turns Tense Over Snowden Questions (When it comes to all things Trump, the NY Times consistently makes choices in its headlines to make them as bland and non-descriptive as possible, instead of stating clearly what’s going on. Gee, wonder why that is.)
Great job by Sen. Tim Kaine trying to get answers out of Trump’s nominee to head up the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. As Sen. Kaine’s office describes it, Kaine asked RFK Jr. “about his previous statements regarding 9/11 conspiracy theories and his financial interest in litigation against the Gardasil vaccine, which is manufactured in Virginia and protects Americans from certain cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).”
One “highlight” from Sen. Kaine’s questioning this morning was – as you can see in the following video – when he attempted to get a serious answer regarding a tweet by RFK Jr. stating:
“My take on 9/11: It’s hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t. But conspiracy theories flourish when the government routinely lies to the public. As President I won’t take sides on 9/11 or any of the other debates. But I can promise is that I will open the files and usher in a new era of transparency.”
Sen. Kaine responded:
“We take that kind of stuff pretty personally. Virginians know what happened on 9/11. And we don’t need folks giving oxygen to conspiracy theories about 9/11. Now, one thing I notice about this post is it was in July of 2024, 23 years after 9/11. You had a lot going on in your life, you were running for president then. What made you decide in the midst of everything going on in thbis country and this world in July of 2024 and your own candidacy for president, that NOW was the time to say it’s hard to tell what is conspiracy and what isn’t about 9/11? What was so important about making this point in July of 2024?…You go on to say, ‘I won’t take sides [as president]…on 9/11.’ Wow. ‘I won’t take sides on 9/11’. Let me ask you this, as a general matter, do you find it hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t? Is that kind of a general deficit that you find in your own analytical abilities?...So you won’t take sides on 9/11, wow.”
Sen. Kaine then proceeded to question RFK Jr. on Gardisil, which multiple studies have shown is safe and effective. And yet RFK Jr. wrote, “Gardisil is killing girls.” Sen. Kaine then noted that RFK Jr. has a “pretty significant financial interest in litigation against Gardisil…” No serious response from RFK Jr, other than “I have given away all of my rights to any fees in that lawsuit.” Alrighty…
See below for Sen. Mark Warner’s opening remarks on Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination hearing this morning before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Sen. Warner is Vice Chair of the committee…
Below are Vice Chairman Warner’s opening remarks as prepared for delivery:
Before I begin, I want to recognize the tragic loss of life that took place last night at Reagan Airport. This morning, I received a briefing at Reagan Airport from the Department of Transportation, alongside my colleagues. I am praying for all the families and the victims. I also want to thank the brave first responders for their efforts. This is a true tragedy.
Ms. Gabbard, welcome. And congratulations on your nomination to be the next Director of National Intelligence.
I would like to begin by thanking you for your decades of public service to our nation, both in uniform and as the former representative for Hawaii. I applaud your continuing commitment to serve, should you be confirmed.
The President has nominated you to be the next Director of National Intelligence. Many people may not understand the importance of that position: If confirmed, you would lead the 18 agencies of the Intelligence Community. You will also serve as the Principal Advisor to the President, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council for all intelligence matters related to national security. And you would be responsible for over $100 billion between the National Intelligence Program and the Military Intelligence Program.
It is a position of great importance and significance to our national security, created after one of the worst security failures in our nation’s history: 9/11. For that reason, when Congress established the position – thanks in large part to the work of my good friend, Susan Collins – it mandated in law that any individual nominated for the position must have, and I quote, “extensive national security expertise.”
I appreciated you taking the time to meet with me in my office and I will note as I did in that meeting, I continue to have significant concerns about your judgment and your qualifications to meet the standard as set by the law.
First, as I noted previously, the DNI was created in part to fill an intelligence sharing gap, which the 9/11 Commission identified. That mission – to share intelligence not only between all U.S. departments and agencies, but also with allies – is predicated on trust… trust that we and our allies will protect each other’s secrets. Yet repeatedly, you have excused our adversaries’ worst actions, and instead blamed the United States and our allies for them.
For example, you blamed NATO for Russia’ 2022 invasion of Ukraine. You rejected the conclusion that Assad used chemical weapons in Syria, despite it being the unanimous assessment of the Trump Administration DOD, State Department, and IC, as well as the assessment of our European allies. Instead, you blamed the United States for supporting al Qa’ida, ISIS, and other terrorist groups in Syria.
Now I don’t know if your intent in making those statements was to defend those dictators, or if you were simply unaware of the intelligence and how your statements would be perceived. In either case, it raises serious questions about your judgment. It also leads me to question whether you have what it takes to build and develop the trust relationships necessary to give our allies confidence that they can share their most sensitive intelligence with us. Make no mistake about it – if they stop sharing that intelligence, we will all be less safe. To take just one example, last summer, intelligence sharing between the United States and Austria saved countless lives by disrupting a terrorist attack at a Taylor Swift concert.
Second, you have been publicly outspoken in your praise and defense of Edward Snowden – someone who betrayed the trust and jeopardized the security of our Nation. The vast majority of the information he stole and leaked – before running off to hide in China and Russia, might I add – had nothing to do with Americans’ privacy and compromised our nation’s most sensitive collection sources and methods. Yet, you have celebrated Snowden as a, quote, “brave whistleblower” and advocated for his pardon.
Furthermore, when given the opportunity to clarify your position in the Committee’s pre-hearing questions, you declined… and instead you expressed that, and I quote, “The DNI… has no role in determining whether or not Edward Snowden is a lawful whistleblower.”
This is troubling to me in a bunch of ways. Not only do you seem to believe that someone who divulged sensitive national secrets to Russia and China should be celebrated as “brave”… you also do not seem to understand the DNI’s role in whistleblower determinations.
In fact, the DNI has a significant role in transmitting lawful whistleblower complaints to this Committee… and I would have serious concerns about confirming someone who cannot distinguish between complaints that are made lawfully, and those that are not. Further, it is the statutory responsibility of the DNI to “protect intelligence sources and methods from unauthorized disclosure.” What message would it send to the intelligence workforce to have a DNI who would celebrate staff and contractors deciding to leak our Nation’s most sensitive secrets as they see fit?
Third, until just recently you had a clear and consistent record of opposing FISA 702. I know the Members of the Committee already understand this, but for those watching today who may not, it is hard to overstate the importance of this law. It is responsible for sixty percent of the intelligence in the President’s Daily Brief, and it has been instrumental in disrupting everything from terrorist attacks to fentanyl trafficking to foreign cyberattacks.
Many in Congress and on this Committee have, at various points, supported reforms to better balance security and civil liberties. However, you have consistently gone further. Not only did you vote against reauthorizing 702, you introduced legislation to repeal the whole thing and have called its very existence a, quote, “blatant disregard for our Fourth Amendment constitutional rights.”
I understand that since you have been nominated to be DNI you have expressed a change of heart. That is welcome, but I do not find it to be credible given your record.
The world today is more complex and more dangerous than ever before and we need serious people with sufficient experience and expertise to navigate that complexity. I hope you will use this opportunity to address my concerns and I look forward to a robust and thorough discussion.
“’The steps that President Trump is taking are steps … that he told everyone he was going to do and received a massive, massive vote of confidence by the American people to do,’ Youngkin told reporters at an event rolling out Virginia school test scores.
…The governor also defended Trump’s plan to shrink the federal workforce”
So, of course, this is bull*** on just about every level. For starters, Trump did NOT receive a “massive vote of confidence by the American people”; in fact, Trump won by just 1.5 points and currently has an historically low approval rating AND an historically high disapproval rating. Second, you really can’t argue – given how bad the media is – that most people understood exactly what Trump was going to do, in this case violating the law, constitution, etc. and trashing our federal government. Third, Youngkin’s duty as governor of Virginia is to *protect and defend VIRGINIA*, not to act as an apologist for every crazy, illegal, unconstitutional thing Trump does! As Speaker Don Scott, quoted in the WaPo article, says:
“For our governor to stand by while the president takes away the livelihoods of Virginians is a shame. And most Virginians should be disgusted that their governor won’t stand up to the president of the United States and say you’re wrong.”
Very well said by Don Scott, who adds, “Virginia Republicans need to stop being afraid of Trump and stand up for Virginians!” But they won’t do that, of course, because they’re in the Trump cult, and that requires total obedience to the cult leader…
“overwhelmingly criticize Governor Youngkin for supporting Trump’s federal spending freeze, suggesting it prioritizes Trump’s agenda over the well-being of Virginians. Many commenters express concern that Youngkin’s actions could harm Virginia’s economy, particularly given its reliance on federal jobs and contracts. They argue that Youngkin’s claims of a ‘massive vote of confidence’ for Trump are misleading, as Trump did not win a majority in Virginia. Overall, the sentiment is that Youngkin is neglecting his duty to protect his constituents’ interests’.”
Finally, as the two top-rated comments say:
“Wow, it’s unusual for a governor of a state to declare openly that he doesn’t care how much a presidential administration’s policies harm his own constituents. Hope Virginians have learned never to vote for Youngkin again in any capacity!”
“Regardless of what Youngkin thinks Trump was elected to do, Youngkin himself was elected to stand up for his constituents and protect their interests. It’s a shame that he seems more interested in sticking up for Trump.”
[UPDATE: another good one] “So- in fealty to the cult leader Trump, Youngkin is willing to see his state, its charities, its health organizations, their workers, and the people they assist, suffer,lose jobs, lose vital services, all in violation of the separation of powers. The GOP has become a sick party indeed.”
Trump’s Inaugural Approval Rating Is Historically Low Again (“At 47%, President Donald Trump’s initial job approval rating for his second term is similar to the inaugural 45% reading during his first term, again placing him below all other elected presidents dating back to 1953. Trump remains the only elected president with sub-50% initial approval ratings, and his latest disapproval rating (48%) is three percentage points higher than in 2017, marking a new high for inaugural ratings.”)
Trump is already acting like a king (“The order to shut off federal grants reveals a vision of the presidency at odds with basic democratic principles.”)
There Is a Strategy Behind the Chaos (“The drama over federal-grant spending this week isn’t mere disorganization; it’s part of a broader effort to remake the government from the inside.”)
It’s Not Amateur Hour Anymore (“Trump’s team is savvy and has been planning to remake the federal government for years.”)
Schapiro: Running in ’26 by running around in ’25 (“Gov. Glenn Youngkin, though mentioned for the Senate, has given no indication that he is interested in anything less than the presidency in 2028. For either office, Youngkin would have to answer for Trump, whose unpopularity fueled a Democratic surge here from 2017 until 2020.”)
See below for video and a few highlights from Sen. Mark Warner’s press availability today. Obviously, there’s a LOT to cover, and almost none of it is good in any way. Very disturbing…
“Welcome to day 10 of the Trump Administration. I think President Trump won this election because he was going to bring down grocery prices and he was going to try to lower costs. Instead, he has introduced chaos at a level that even makes the first term look organized. Since Monday, when he late at night, with no warning, put in effect a freeze on all federal spending, everywhere across Virginia there have been concerns…from the folks who work on roads and bridges …the domestic abuse center…Head Start organizations all across the state, Meals on Wheels…The idea that you’re going to freeze funding for 90 days means a lot of these operations are going to have to fire a lot of folks, they don’t have the ability to fund themselves.”
“And it’s remarkable to me that we don’t hear more from, we’ve heard from a lot of the Democrats in state government, I would hope we’d hear from everybody else that all of the federal funds that pass through the state government into local programs those appear to be frozen as well.”
“Then we had an hour ago, we got this tweet saying, hey, we screwed up, we got to rescind, we’re going to think about it some more. Then 30 minutes later, we got this tweet from the White House press secretary. I don’t have the foggiest idea, since this one says, no the freeze is still in place. This is chaos on steroids!”
“I can tell you as somebody who ran a business, this is not a way to run the most important enterprise in the world – the American government.”
“Then on top of that, if that wasn’t enough fodder for day eight, I guess day nine yesterday, late in the afternoon, the administration puts out this *supposed* offer to have everybody who wants to quit and get paid till September 30th. One, we don’t know if that’s legal. Two, there’s no money for that in the budget. Three, what would we do if at air traffic controllers, where we’re already 2,000 fokls short, have another couple thousand air traffic controllers all say, fine, I’m going to take the money and not work for the next six months. We’d have an air traffic emergency.”
“You know, one of the things that’s hit a lot of Virginia and a lot of Americans, the price of eggs keeps going up. Well I can tell you, if everybody who works on trying to contain the bird flu who are federal health inspectors in terms of animal safety, if they all quit, you think egg prices are high now, see what egg prices would be in two weeks? Or do we really think it’s good if all the federal employees who are doing salmonella inspection all quit at the same time?”
“I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. President Trump’s pick for the OMB that’s supposed to control all this or run this process, he was the author of Project 2025 that Trump said repeatedly, don’t believe any of that, not interested in that. Well, Russell Vought, who I questioned in committee about a week ago, said and I quote, he wants to ‘traumatize’ the federal workforce; he wants to make them wake up every day thinking they’re villains. Well, I can’t think of anything more traumatic than what our federal workforce has been going through. And again, it’s not some faceless bureaucrat; this is the person that keeps you safe in the air…who inspects your milk and your and your eggs…it’s a person who provides health care for somebody in a community health center.”
“This is remarkable. So you’ve got this offer that you don’t know will be honored. You have the potential of a whole lot of folks quitting. And I would say to my federal workforce, if there’s ways to make it more efficient, count me in; wholesale bad management practices, offering people a buyout that we don’t know if it’s legal, if there’s any money. You talk about I’m afraid of is anybody that says, well, I’m going to take the offer, and then you end up the offer not being honored, you’ve got a big target on your back in terms of future RIFs. Let’s face it, this guy is trying to stiff the federal employees just as he stiffed all of the private contractors who he never paid in his private business. This is not what America voted for it’s not what we need to do if we’re going to maintain a more efficient government that provides services that are essential. And I just wish some of my Republican friends at the state level, the federal level everywhere would step up and say this doesn’t affect just red states or blue states, it affects the whole United States – and this will have draconian effects on people’s lives.”
“Listen, I don’t want immigration officials going into churches and schools without any constraints. I think it’s bad policy, I think it will will interrupt kids ability to learn or folks’ ability to worship….Making sure that people who have who have broken the law, there ought to be a path the deportation, even supported that piece of legislation recently. But this kind of wholesale effort to intimidate folks where they pray or where they learn is over the line…Undocumented folks who’ve broken major laws, that’s one category; going into people’s churches and schools I think is a beyond the line.”
“Listen, I’ve voted so far for four of President Trump’s nominees. I’m trying to give everybody a fair look. I believe these hearings are a job interview. I’m not going to vote to confirm Robert Kennedy – because one, he didn’t have a basic understanding of even how the funds that flow into our health care system work…didn’t understand anything about community health centers, didn’t understand how many state health care programs will be affected by this federal dollar freeze, I think that’s disqualifying. I think the fact that he is a constant critic on Medicaid when literally hundreds of thousands of Virginians, most vulnerable, receive Medicaid, and candidly a lot of our seniors who are in nursing homes of middle class parents are on Medicaid as well. You freeze that or go against Medicaid, you’re going to have real problems…in terms of over half of Virginia abortions are performed with the abortion pill mefipristone; the fact that he wants to go against 42 studies proving its safety and efficacy and that he’s just going to follow whatever Trump says is disqualifying. And again, when when I asked him, he had said publicly he wants to get rid of 600 people at NIH, he told me in my office I asked him, I think it was 2,200 folks – he had no idea where he was going to cut. Is he going to cut people, the researchers at NIH just because they work on vaccines that he doesn’t like? Are they going to cut the folks who work on our community health centers, federally sponsored community health centers? Where are those folks going to turn? So I’ll be voting against Mr. Kennedy. And again, I think anyone who observed that hearing. I like what Mr Kennedy has said about trying to end chronic health [problems], if he’d stayed in that lane. But all of these other issues around vaccines, around how we would cut back some of our researchers and how we would choose which vaccines, that he would fire folks not on or not, his lack of understanding about how the federal government actually delivers health care outside of Medicare and Social Security means that I’ll be a no.”
“I’ve said going in to my meeting with Tulsi Gabbard, I had questions. I have questions coming out. And the amount of press reports, much of which I’m aware of that have come out just in the last 48 hours, is overwhelming. And it is remarkable that even the Wall Street Journal, who’s very conservative, questioned her ability to oversee the 18 different intelligence agencies that make up our intelligence community. And remember, we have the best intelligence forces in the world, but we also are supplemented by our allies all over the world. And the notion – and I’m going to raise some of these questions tomorrow – the notion that we would put somebody in charge of those agencies that thought Edward Snowden is a hero, I’m not sure…how would our allies trust to share information with us going forward. So I’ve got an awful lot of questions, I’ve got an awful lot of concerns, there are a whole host of issues, and I think those issues will be raised fully and broadly tomorrow in the committee.”
“Listen, we’ve not been able to get the answers as the United States Senator; Tim Kaine and I are working very closely together on this. If we can’t get answers, how can that air traffic controller, how can that individual who works at the Department of Education or how can that individual who is a park ranger in the Shenandoah Valley make a decision? There’s a question whether you can even legally the president can do this across the whole workforce; it’s never been done before. The question of where the money is going to come from. And this trying to rush people, scare people, intimidate them into making a choice. I said it before, I’ll say it again – I think he’s trying to stiff the federal workforce the same way he stiffed contractors who worked for him on all the failed Trump properties around the country. And our federal workforce deserves better. I mean, there are laws in place in terms of severance packages and healthcare benefits have been negotiated. Is all that out the window? Is rule of law really going to be just dispensed with when it comes to our federal workforce?…The only thing I can think this is is back to Russell Vought, Project 2025, let’s traumatize the federal workforce let’s villainize them…It’s stunning, both the breadth and the audaciousness of this, particularly when there’s nowhere in the the budget that would even approximate where these dollars are coming.And you think the American people are going to want to pay folks to not work for the next six months? You know, maybe this works in the tech world, but it’s not like the tech world – and I say this is a former technology guy – it’s not like the tech world employees are the ones making sure that you climb on an airplane it’s going to be safe or making sure the eggs you eat or the or or the chicken you eat are going to be safe. Again – not legal, no money and unfortunately Mr. Trump has a record of stiffing anybody in business transaction after business transaction.”
“Which piece of paper you want to believe? The one that says we’re rescinding it?…or this one, two or three lines, no guidance, or the one that says no never mind?…I’m sorry just you know as a business guy…this would never be the way to operate. When I was governor of Virginia was named best managed state. If I’d pulled these antics when I was governor, Virginia would be in the bottom five…Obviously, there is the court hold, but that only goes to Monday. My fear is that Mr. Vought, who I’m definitely going to vote against, who is the architect of most of this activity, who thinks we ought to traumatize our federal workforce…they’re hitting everybody, they’re going after kids, they’re going after old folks, they’re going after folks in domestic violence centers. We’re going to rally, but I’ve got to tell you, we’ve got to have our Republican friends and colleagues step up – I know some are saying, well we want to be quiet in terms of pushing back. I don’t think this is an Administration that’s going to respond to quiet activity. And the thing about these orders are they didn’t just hit blue states, they hit all states; they didn’t just pick some programs, they hit all programs…”
“Again folks, you like me…people all over the country are wondering what’s the plan – which of these do you believe or what do you believe? The fact is, for a lot of folks, the one thing they didn’t like about the first Trump term was chaos. It feels to me like this level of chaos at day 10 of this new administration maybe even exceeds some of the worst weeks of the first term. We’re going to stay at it, and I just appeal again to Republican members across the country – your folks are going to get hurt as well, those folks are concerned about air traffic safety, what happens if all the air traffic controllers or group takes these buyouts...This ought to be something that should not be partisan or regional; we ought to say, yeah, find efficiency, fine; create chaos or traumatize the workforce, that’s not a good business practice.”
Check out the following press release from the VA House Democratic Caucus on Trump’s federal funding freeze and Democrats’ efforts to support Virginians. Then, a few minutes ago, after the White House rescinded Trump’s illegal, unconstitutional funding freeze, Speaker Don Scott tweeted:
“This is priceless. Republicans—especially, Governor Youngkin—spent all day twisting themselves into pretzels defending Trump’s disastrous decision. And then—bam—it gets rescinded. Eventually, everyone who ties themselves to Trump ends up looking like a fool. Stand by for more chaos.”
Youngkin, of course, has completely sold his soul to the devil – that would be Donald Trump, as well as Youngkin’s own unhinged lust for power for himself, including potentially the 2028 Republican presidential nomination. For Youngkin, all else – including the truth, ethics, morality, etc. – are very much secondary to his own ambitions.
Virginia House Democrats Condemn Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze, Highlight Efforts to Support Virginians
RICHMOND, VA — Today, the Virginia House Democratic Caucus held a press conference to address President Donald Trump’s federal funding freeze and its harmful impact on Virginians. Caucus leaders warned that Trump’s reckless decision jeopardizes critical resources for housing, veterans, law enforcement, and economic development across the Commonwealth.
During the press conference, House Democrats outlined their legislative efforts to support Virginians, including two key bills:
HB1958, to give first-time homebuyers up to $10,000 to purchase a home.
HB1701, to extend the housing opportunity tax credit set to expire at the end of 2025 to 2030.
“Trump’s cuts and political games will hurt real people—their livelihoods, their health, and their futures. He’s betrayed the hardworking people of Virginia, leaving communities exposed, families vulnerable, and costs soaring,” said Speaker Don Scott. “This decision is confirmation of Project 2025 in action, and Governor Youngkin is backing it while Virginians are worried about where their next meal will come from, if they’ll get paid tomorrow, or if they’ll still be able to sleep in their homes. Where is the leadership from Attorney General Miyares and Lt. Governor Sears? Virginians deserve better than passive observers—they need bold leaders who will stand up to Trump’s illegal actions and fight for the people of Virginia.”
“Let’s be clear: the Trump Administration’s indiscriminate and sweeping cuts to popular, meaningful programs that people rely on are not just cruel, it’s unpopular. These cuts take away real help that everyday people across this country and across the Commonwealth rely on,” said Del. David Bulova. “House Democrats are laser-focused on real solutions to help people weather this storm.”
“We’ve introduced HB 1598, [to] give homebuyers a $10,000 one time nonrefundable tax credit to purchase a home. We really want to make sure that people have the ability to live and get into homes,” said Del. Josh Cole. “This damnable evil that President Trump has released […] throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia and all throughout the nation, is hurting working class people […]. House Democrats in Virginia are protecting working class citizens, and you can take that to the bank and cash it— just like you’ll be able to take [the HB1598] tax credit to the bank and cash it once we get it passed.”
“Many of Virginia’s public safety programs rely on federal funding. That means resources for our police officers, support for victims of crime, programs that help combat the opioid and fentanyl crisis, and even the Attorney General’s own Project Safe Neighborhoods,” said Delegate Joshua Thomas. “I find it unacceptable that one reckless decision in Washington would defund the tools we need to keep our communities safe. We’re not just going to sit back and let this happen. We’re fighting to build a family-first economy, to protect our communities, and to make sure Virginia stays on the path to being the best place to live, work, learn, and raise a family.”
“We are seeing the fear, chaos, confusion, and concern that the President is causing by choosing to freeze federal funding—parents already feeling economic stress are now even more worried about how they’ll get health care, child care, food and shelter for their kids, students who should be focused on their studies, are wondering how they’re going to be paying for their education, and seniors who should be enjoying retirement are worrying about their next meal if Meals on Wheels stop operating,” said Chair Kathy Tran. “House Democrats are laying out the real life consequences of this dangerous decision and some of the legislation that we’re championing to help Virginians, efforts to invest in affordable housing, lower costs and building a family first economy that works for everyone, because while they play political games with people’s lives, we are focused and we are leading to deliver results for the people of Virginia.”
