Virginians have the right to expect their government to defend the legitimate authority of the Commonwealth. Yet, as Virginia faces threats to its autonomy and authority, Republicans seem more keen on belittling the State’s power to conduct its own business than defending it.
The Democrats, in contrast, are actively working to protect this autonomy. Recently, Democrats in the Virginia State Senate filed suit to stop eight nominees of Gov. Glenn Youngkin from serving on various boards of various public universities in the state after a failed committee vote. Despite the efforts of Republicans to diminish legislative authority, a Fairfax County judge ordered July 22 that these nominees, including Ken Cuccinelli, who was recently nominated by Youngkin to the Board of Visitors at the University, could not continue to serve on the governing boards.
This suit represents a critical juncture in Virginia politics with Democrats defending the authority of the Commonwealth to conduct its own affairs and specifically the right to retain control of the Boards of Visitors at Virginia's public universities. This should be a self-evident position and yet, Virginia Senate Democrats seem to be the only officials defending the authority of the Commonwealth’s own institutions. The time has come for the Governor and Attorney General to stop abandoning their duty to defend Virginia.
While purported legislative overreach is a real concern, the legislative power that Democrats are defending should not be remotely controversial, given how clearly it is grounded in Virginia law. The Code of Virginia entitles the General Assembly to reject a governor’s appointments to boards of public universities. And a few months ago, that is exactly what they did — the Virginia Senate Committee on Privileges & Elections rejected eight appointments. At first glance, it might seem reasonable to think a committee vote is not a proper decision of the legislature. However, committees are the first stop for any laws proposed by the governor, and many such laws die in committee. Should we consider all of these votes to be invalid, simply because the Legislature has decided to organize itself in this way?
Despite the self-evident nature of the case for state legislative power, Virginia’s executive officials choose to shirk it. Among those officials is Attorney General Jason Miyares, who now refuses to defend the Democrats for exercising their legitimate authority to block the Governor’s appointments. Despite this being an incontrovertible use of legislative authority, the Attorney General seems to buy into the absurd idea that the General Assembly does not have the power to reject Youngkin’s nominations. In short, when legitimate state power wielded by Democrats comes into opposition with the Republican platform, the Attorney General bends a knee to defend his Republican colleagues instead of defending the power of the Commonwealth’s representatives.
This bending of the knee fits into a larger trend of acquiescence to political currents as opposed to clear laws. Consider the federal overreach which forced out former University President Jim Ryan and the manner in which our state’s executives rolled over. Youngkin and his administration have remained tight-lipped over their role in the DOJ investigation, as has the University’s Board of Visitors. Democrats, on the other hand, have taken the initiative on starting oversight, with State Sen. Creigh Deeds sending a letter to the Board to understand what went on behind closed doors. Combined with an Attorney General arguing against the General Assembly, Youngkin’s passivity and secrecy in response to federal intrusion breed a government that has abandoned its duty to defend the State.
The saga between the General Assembly and the Board highlights a pervasive issue of Republican state officials abrogating their duties to maintain the State’s relative independence. Even as Republican officials preach the importance of states’ rights in other realms, such as abortion, they condone unprecedented federal interference in states’ educational affairs and compromise the power of the legislature. Republicans’ ignorance of inconveniences like ideological consistency will put Virginia under the thumb of Washington and decay legislative norms. The Democrats’ actions, however, provide an excellent example of how vigorously state officials should defend their authority in the face of unlawful overreach. Unless this authority is safeguarded in this way, the ability of Virginians to legislate statewide issues will be stripped away in favor of top-down directives from President Trump.
The University has already witnessed a taste of what a Republican-led administration is willing to countenance with the exit of Ryan, and Youngkin has certainly not provided any reason to believe that his power is anything but an extension of President Trump’s power in the State. At this moment, more than ever, Virginia and the University need officials who will defend it, whether it be from the federal government itself or from other state officials trying to usurp the legitimate power of other branches. Republicans should take a cue from the Democrats and join them in their fight to protect Virginia’s authority. In this new world, where political intrusion coming from the highest levels of government is the new modus operandi, Virginia requires officials who will fight for her, not ones who seek her subsumption.
Michael King is a senior associate opinion editor who writes about politics for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the authors alone.
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