“We have been fooling ourselves that Virginia students were doing OK,” he told the Greater Williamsburg Chamber of Commerce as he detailed the new budget’s increased spending for schools, lab school campaign and teacher raises.
Later, he told reporters that the search for classified government records at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home showed the Justice Department had lost some credibility.
“I believe there’s been a lot of lost faith in the DOJ,” he said.
“When you have a department that investigated parents in Loudoun County for being in board meetings and didn’t fully protect justices … and now with the developments at Mar-a-Lago, I just think transparency is most important from our DOJ here,” he said.
A stunning move by the DOJ and FBI.
This same DOJ labeled parents in Loudoun County as terrorists and failed to enforce federal law to protect Justices in their homes. Selective, politically motivated actions have no place in our democracy.
Asked if he believed the DOJ had called parents domestic terrorists, as he said in a tweet on the day of the search, Yougkin said: “I think the DOJ was investigating parents; I think the DOJ was investigating parents and they were clear that they were, and what we saw was accusations had been made and the whole circumstance was wrong.”
Youngkin was referring to a controversy over a high school student in Loudoun who assaulted students at two schools. The governor, who highlighted the parents’ role in schools during his successful campaign, has faulted Loudoun school officials for their handling of the case. An executive order he signed the day he took office authorized Attorney General Jason Miyares to investigate Loudoun’s schools.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., had blasted Youngkin’s tweet as “just a lie” for directly saying the DOJ had labeled the parents as terrorists. The National School Boards Association sent a letter to President Joe Biden last year comparing parents’ protests in the county to domestic terrorists.
Youngkin is traveling to Michigan later this month to help Republicans in that state’s 2022 elections. Republican Tudor Dixon is challenging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who is seeking a second term.
On Tuesday Youngkin told the chamber group that the status of Virginia’s workforce is a top concern.
“When we are recruiting companies to come to Virginia … the constant reminder is workforce, workforce, workforce,” he said.
That’s why, he said, his program for schools includes a push for laboratory schools — innovative programs developed by colleges or businesses to focus on developing students’ skills, including those needed in the work place. The budget includes $100 million in seed money for lab schools.
And it’s why he’s launched a task force to find ways to make housing more affordable. Too many Virginians are moving elsewhere, and a top reason they cite is the cost of living here, he said.
The high and rising price of houses and soaring rents are the big part of that he said, and one reason why is the cost of obtaining permits and zoning approvals.
Most are the responsibility of local governments, but he said he’s also asked the state Department of Environmental Quality to join the task force, to look at the balance of state conservation and growth policies.
Youngkin said later he hadn’t yet determined if the current balance is right or needs adjusting.
Along with education — including a call to build on Virginia’s unique focus on pre-K schooling in order to become a national leader — and housing, Youngkin said tax policies, regulatory reform and investment in transportation are elements in his push to boost the state’s economic competitive posture.
Competition for jobs is fierce especially with North Carolina, he said.
And to make the point, he told the chamber group that he had breakfast with the governor of that state: “I just looked him in the eye and I said ‘Look, I really respect you, but we’re coming for you.’ ”
From the Archives: C.F. Sauer Co. through the years