February 15, 2022 News & Press Releases

From Bad To Worse Here’s Governor Youngkin’s First Month of Failures


by Democratic Party of Virginia

Hang on Virginia…we’re in for a bumpy ride

Richmond, VA —Today marks Governor Youngkin’s first month in office. After inheriting the strongest economy in Virginia’s history, Gov. Youngkin has started off his term with a rollercoaster of chaos, confusion, far-right extremism and outright incompetence. From cyberbullying a high schooler to failing to deliver on his major campaign promises, Governor Youngkin has had a rude awakening to the realities of governing. One thing is abundantly clear: Virginians are in for a long four years.

In case you missed the whirlwind of a month, here are some of the highlights of Governor’s Youngkin’s first month in office: 

  1. Governor Youngkin quickly racked up a record-breaking three lawsuits after he signed an illegal executive order that was later struck down by an Arlington Judge.
  2. After school divisions rejected the Governor’s illegal executive order, Gov. Youngkin and Lt. Governor Earle-Sears threatened to defund public schools.
  3. After overstepping his executive powers, Gov. Youngkin established a ‘tip line’ encouraging Virginians to report teachers for teaching ‘divisive practices’ and then claimed executive privilege to prevent the release of the emails after numerous FOIA requests.
  4. In a major setback, Democrats rejected Gov. Youngkin’s highest-profile cabinet nominee Andrew Wheeler – a former coal lobbyist and Trump crony. 
  5. In the legislature, Youngkin has failed to deliver on major campaign promises such as his anti-democracy bill restricting the right to vote. 
  6. In just two weeks on the job, Gov. Youngkin’s approval ratings were already underwater.
  7. After preaching about unity and respect, Governor Youngkin’s official campaign account attacked a high school student and offered a non-apology after the student was ridiculed and harassed by his own supporters.
  8. Gov. Youngkin’s Attorney General, Jason Miyares, came under fire after recent revelations of a quid-pro-quo and patterns of systemic unethical behavior were reported in the AG’s office, including a Deputy Attorney General who was overseeing Virginia’s elections who expressed her belief that the 2020 election was stolen and praised the Jan. 6 insurrectionist. 
  9. In several hearings, Governor Youngkin’s nominees put forward an incompetent display of befuddlement, ignorance and cluelessness, the trifecta of incompetence with their  “I Don’t Knows.” 
  10. In response to the Andrew Wheeler nomination failing, Governor Youngkin strong-armed House and Senate Republicans to go nuclear and shut down Virginia’s government by holding over 1,000 appointments made by the previous administration.
  11. Now, Governor Youngkin and Republicans have abandoned any premise of bipartisanship and rejected the nominations of 11 life-long dedicated public servants in an effort to play politics.
  12. During Black History Month, Governor Youngkin mistook two prominent African American legislators, Sen. Louise Lucas for Sen. Mamie Locke when attempting to compliment the Senator on her speech. 

“If Governor Youngkin’s first month in office is a glimpse of what the next four years are like, Virginians are in trouble,” said DPVA Spokesperson Gianni Snidle. “With just a month on the job, Governor Youngkin has instilled chaos, sown divisions, and flat out failed to unite Virginians. If Virginians had any doubt before, they know now that Governor Youngkin isn’t some mild-mannered fleece vest-wearing moderate, he is a dangerous far-right crony that puts our Commonwealth at risk.” 

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