JD Spain, Sr. Sworn-in to the Arlington County Board; Jay Jones Endorsed by Vindman and Suhas; No Women GOP Committee Chairs; Virginia State University Fall Graduation

🚩 10 days until Dec. 25 🎅🏽 Christmas + Hanukkah and 11 days until Kwanzaa
🚩 19 days until Jan. 3, 2025 the 119th Congress is sworn in.
🚩 25 days until the Virginia General Assembly convenes on Jan. 8, 2025.
🚩 36 days until the MLK Holiday on Jan. 20, 2025.
🚩 36 days until Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2025.

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JD Spain, Sr. Sworn in to Arlington County Board

On Dec. 14 in Arlington, JD Spain, Sr. was sworn in to the Arlington County Board. An overflow room was required for the event after so many people attended. Faces in the crowd included retired Judge William T. Newman, civil rights leader Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, Congressman Don Beyer, State Senator Barbara Favola, fmr. Virginia State Senator Mary Margaret Whipple, fmr. Arlington County Board Member Christian Dorsey and all of the current members of the Arlington County Board.

Jay Jones Endorsed by Rep-Elects Eugene Vindman and Suhas Subramanyam

Former House of Delegates member Jay Jones has won the endorsements of Virginia’s two incoming Democratic members of Congress to the be the next Attorney General of Virginia. They are Rep-Elect Eugene Vindman and Rep-Elect Suhas Subramanyam. The race for Attorney General in Virginia in 2025 will be very competitive.

“Jay Jones is battle tested and the best choice to serve as our next Attorney General,” said Rep-Elect Eugene Vindman. “As a former prosecutor, I know Jay will fight to keep our communities safe and protect our freedoms. He'll stand up to extremists, serve every Virginian, and make sure that the people come first—not special interests."

The week before on Dec. 10, Rep-Elect Suhas Subramanyam released a statement saying, “Jay Jones is the right Democrat to win back the AG's office, and he will be a champion for Virginia families. I served alongside Jay in the House of Delegates and know he’ll fight for every Virginia family to make sure they have safe communities, strong schools, and lower costs.”

No Women Selected for GOP Committee Chairs for First Time in Two Decades

Women Need Not Apply: Republicans in the U.S. House have chosen their leadership for committees. For the first time in decades there will be no women who will serve as a Committee Chair in the U.S. House in 2025 and 2026. Republicans will have the majority in the U.S. House Chamber as the breakdown is expected to be 220 Republicans and 215 Democrats.

Correction on McClellan, Scott Statements on Military Funding Bill

In our Dec. 12 newsletter we made a mistake regarding the press releases from Virginia’s two historic members of Congress. Below is the statement of Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan on the National Defense Authorization Bill vote on Dec. 11. We mistakenly ran Rep. Bobby Scott’s statement as McClellan’s and apologize for the error.

The large military bill passed and Reps. McClellan and Scott both voted in favor of it. The legislation includes a 14 percent raise for service members, child care and family support and money for shipbuilding.

Below is the statement from Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, who is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, on her vote on the National Defense Authorization Bill

“Earlier this year, the House Armed Services Committee developed a strong bipartisan NDAA focused on improving the quality of life of our servicemembers and advancing our national security priorities. We passed that bill with near unanimous consent to deliver for our Armed Forces and military families, improve our military readiness, and support our global allies and partners.

“Democrats and Republicans on the Armed Services Committee reached consensus on transformative provisions and robust investments, anchored by the yearlong work and final report of the bipartisan Quality of Panel. We secured a 14.5% pay increase for junior enlisted servicemembers and a 4.5% pay increase for all other servicemembers. We prioritized investments in health care, contraception, housing, childcare, military spousal support, and civilian workforce benefits. We increased funding for PFAS remediation and increased eligibility for the basic needs allowance to ensure military families have the resources they need. The NDAA also incorporated my Improving TAP for Guard and Reserve Servicemembers Act, legislation to provide the Reserve Components of our Armed Forces with tailored guidance and technical assistance to support their transition back to civilian life.

“Unfortunately, Speaker Johnson used the NDAA as a vehicle to advance his conference’s extreme priorities. The original House-passed version contained MAGA culture war amendments that dismantle all DEI initiatives within the Armed Forces; limit servicemembers and their families’ access to reproductive health care; ban TRICARE coverage for gender-affirming care; restore Confederate memorials; abandon Ukraine and our NATO allies; and more. I vehemently and unequivocally opposed these provisions and Republicans’ use of must-pass legislation to advance their policy wishlist, and therefore voted against the House version.

“Thankfully, negotiators stripped nearly all of these poison pill amendments from the final version of the bill. However, the final bill included a Republican provision banning TRICARE coverage for gender-affirming care for minors that could result in sterilization. While I adamantly oppose this provision, I voted for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 because of its transformative provisions to improve the quality of life of our servicemembers and military families in Virginia and across the nation.”

How the Virginia Delegation Voted on the National Defense Authorization Act

Reps. Don Beyer and Jennifer Wexton did not vote.

🚩 To force Democrats to have to make a choice between the needs of the military and the LGBT lobby, GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson added a late provision prohibiting health covering for gender-affirming care for service members’ children and dependents under 18.

Virginia State University Fall Graduation

Dec. 14 was fall 2024 graduation at Virginia State University. Congratulations to all of the graduates.

Governor Youngkin on Drone Sightings in Virginia

Yesterday (Dec. 14, 2024) Governor Glenn Youngkin released a statement on drone sightings in Virginia.

There is a contact information for Virginia residents who want to report a sighting: The Virginia Fusion Center at VFC@vfc.vsp.virginia.gov or (877) 4VA-TIPS.

“The Commonwealth of Virginia is home to a significant number of national security and critical infrastructure sites upon which our nation depends each and every day. I remain deeply concerned that Virginia has consistently sought information from federal partners, and to date, the information shared with the Commonwealth has been insufficient,” said Gov. Youngkin in a Dec. 14 statement.

Six Books of Note

1- Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey (Oct. 2024)
2- When Mayor Doug Wilder Ruled Richmond: Strong-Arm Politics in Virginia's Capital City by Linwoood Norman (Aug. 2024)
3- Rumor, Repression, and Racial Politics: How the Harassment of Black Elected Officials Shaped Post-Civil Rights America (Since 1970: Histories of Contemporary America) by George Derek Musgrove
4- Son of Virginia, A Life in America's Political Arena (2015) by L. Douglas Wilder
5- The New Jim Crow (2010) by Michelle Alexander
6- Remaking Virginia Politics by Paul Goldman (Jan. 2022)

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