Virginia
Virginia lawmakers react to President Trump’s federal spending freeze • Virginia Mercury
![Virginia lawmakers react to President Trump’s federal spending freeze • Virginia Mercury Virginia lawmakers react to President Trump’s federal spending freeze • Virginia Mercury](https://virginiamercury.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Picture3_0.jpg)
The Trump administration’s latest move to freeze payments on several federal programs has sparked alarm among Virginia Democrats, who are questioning how the halt might impact critical funding.
“I am concerned that yesterday we learned that the Trump administration is pausing federal grants,” state Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, posted on X. “We have asked the Secretary of Finance in Virginia to inform us how this impacts our current budget and cash flow.” Lucas is chair of the Virginia Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee.
And Abigail Spanberger, former U.S. Representative and a Democratic candidate for governor, also turned to X, saying that President Donald Trump’s “reckless move” to pause all federal aid is causing confusion for Virginians, “including those counting on assistance in the wake of Hurricane Helene.”
A two-page memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), released Tuesday, directs federal agencies to “identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders.”
A federal judge on Tuesday evening delayed the spending freeze until Feb. 3 in an emergency order.
The document highlights “financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology and the green new deal,” as key areas under review.
“These cuts and political games hurt real people — their livelihoods, their health, and their futures,” House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, said in a statement. “President Trump has betrayed the hardworking people of Virginia, leaving communities exposed, families vulnerable, and costs soaring.”
While a footnote of the order clarified that Medicare and Social Security would not be affected, the omission of Medicaid — a program critical to over 630,000 low-income Virginians and people with disabilities — left many Democrats uneasy.
Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax called potential Medicaid cuts “disturbing” in a recent interview with The Mercury. She expressed deep concern over the possibility of Medicaid landing on the federal chopping block.
However, for now, Medicaid appears to be spared from the freeze, according to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Youngkin assured Virginians that the pause does not extend to individual assistance or essential funding for disaster recovery, education, transportation, or healthcare. The White House also released a memo Tuesday afternoon clarifying that Medicaid benefits would continue.
Youngkin accused Democratic leaders of spreading misinformation and using “partisan stunts.” He called their claims “dangerous, fearmongering and completely wrong.”
A spokesperson for House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, declined to comment by the time of this publication.
I would hate to see this body become a daily debate on what is going on in Washington
– Virginia state Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg
Debate erupted in the Virginia Senate Tuesday evening over the commonwealth’s response to Trump’s decision to freeze payments on federal programs. Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, argued that the issue demands attention, given how deeply Virginia’s state and the federal governments are “intertwined.”
Ebbin said that it would be “irresponsible” for lawmakers to not discuss the matter, emphasizing the potential ripple effects of federal decisions on the commonwealth.
Others, however, called for a sharper focus on state-specific concerns.
“It’s not our job right here in this session to affect what is going on in Washington,” said Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg. He urged his colleagues to keep their attention on issues directly impacting Virginians.
“I would hate to see this body become a daily debate on what is going on in Washington,” Peake added. “We have a job to do, we’ve got a month left to do it. That is what we need to focus on.”
Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, agreed with Peake’s call to focus on Virginians, but pointed out that issues like health care directly impact the well-being of families and employers across the commonwealth.
“We should be focusing on the bread and butter issues. We should be focusing on issues that help our families thrive and survive and, I submit to you, having health care insurance is one of those issues,” Favola said.
Republicans used the discussion to criticize policies like the Clean Economy Act and collective bargaining legislation, which they argued place unnecessary burdens on taxpayers.
“People just want to take home more of their hard-earned dollars,” said Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg. “I respectfully submit that we ought to be getting about our business, not spinning up the national hysteria over what’s going on across the river.”
While Virginia lawmakers debate the state’s response, legal questions about Trump’s authority to enact the freeze loom large in Washington. The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power of the purse, and existing laws bar presidents from refusing to spend money that Congress has appropriated.
Virginia’s Office of the Attorney General declined to comment on the administration’s action but Democratic attorneys general are preparing to file a lawsuit, according to reporting from States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau.
The freeze threatens to disrupt critical programs across education, health, housing, health and transportation.
Federal grants, which make up the largest source of Virginia’s non-general fund revenue, support numerous state initiatives. According to a May 2024 report by the House Appropriations Committee, Virginia has over $45 billion in federal grants and contracts for the current biennium.
In K-12 education alone, the state received more than $1.5 billion in federal aid in fiscal year 2025, the Richmond Times reports. Additional federal funds include over $46 million for Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, $275 million for semiconductor chip development, $3.9 million for pharmaceutical job growth, $380 million for the Port of Virginia, and $100 million for business expansion, according to data from Virginia’s Democratic U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner.
The timing of the freeze has also drawn criticism as Vice President J.D. Vance joined Youngkin just one day prior to the announcement to highlight Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in Southwest Virginia.
Virginia’s U.S senators blasted the president’s “reckless” and “illegal” decision in a joint statement Tuesday, calling it a direct threat to economic growth and disaster recovery.
“In every corner of Virginia alone, there are enormous, game-changing economic developments projects happening right now that depend on federal spending appropriated by Congress,” they wrote, citing Hurricane Helene recovery, semiconductor manufacturing, pharmaceutical jobs as examples.
“We call on the administration to immediately reverse course and allow the dollars Congress approved to continue reaching the places where it is so badly needed before millions of Americans are forced to pay the price for President Trump’s chaos,” they wrote.
Kaine and Warner also joined a broader push to exempt Veterans Affairs employees from a separate federal hiring freeze, warning that the move could “dramatically impair the ability of veterans across the country to get the care and benefits they desperately need.”
The hiring freeze could also delay critical services, including assistance for homeless veterans, burial services and operations of the Veterans Crisis Line.
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Virginia
Virginia AG seeks to take over sex offender case involving school incidents
![Virginia AG seeks to take over sex offender case involving school incidents Virginia AG seeks to take over sex offender case involving school incidents](https://images.foxtv.com/c107833-mcdn.mp.lura.live/expiretime=2082787200/25bf16550b3261d3bc05b80071c8f335b3eaddf02cc763a062af319c9a878d7f/iupl/02B/06E/1280/720/02B06E538F1A64F374539AE18FB840A2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Virginia’s Attorney General Jason Miyares is accusing Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano of failing to do his job. He’s demanding Descano turn over a case involving a sex offender to his office. The problem is that the case does not exist. FOX 5’s Katie Barlow has the story.
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Virginia
Winter weather makes travel difficult for Virginia drivers: 'Take it easy'
![Winter weather makes travel difficult for Virginia drivers: 'Take it easy' Winter weather makes travel difficult for Virginia drivers: 'Take it easy'](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b362b0a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1008+0+36/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcf.cdn.uplynk.com%2Fausw2%2Fslices%2F25c%2Fab537de11df9456cb23cbc1d7e732de9%2F25cc658b93eb4695997240d07670eec4%2Fposter_308824aa002740319155363267e598f4.jpg)
RICHMOND, Va. — Winter weather made travel quite tricky for Virginians on Tuesday.
Stranded on the side of the road is a situation Liam Gorman didn’t expect to be in Tuesday afternoon.
He got stuck in the wintry Richmond road conditions during his drive home.
“I just started slipping, like, my rear wheels started slipping a little,” Gorman said. “It wasn’t too fun. I started, like, drifting to the side a little bit, and then I just kind of pulled over.”
Lafaylafier Delonte also got caught up in similar conditions. He was headed home on the interstate from work in Williamsburg.
“I seen eight accidents. And hope, hope, you know, everybody made it back home. They got hurt. Too bad,” Delonte said. “I did like, 45 on the way back. And I’ll let people pass me a couple cars that pass. Man, like, look at them and a couple cars, that were riding fast wrecked.”
CBS 6 also spoke to Go Puff driver Anthony Brown. He delivers items to customers all over the region.
“It’s pretty slippery out there,” Brown said. “It’s hazardous getting in and out of neighborhoods, like my cars are four wheel drive so kind of like slipping a little.”
Brown said he decided to cut his day short and that the deteriorating road conditions were not worth the chance of getting into a crash.
“So trying to take it slow, to not go into the night, because, you know, it’s gonna freeze over tonight. So just trying to be safe,” Brown said.
State police said there were 700 accidents in Virginia due to the winter weather, which are statistics these drivers don’t want to part be of as they try to get home from work and work to do their part to stay off the roads the rest of Tuesday night. A
“Take it easy, going to the speed limit. Don’t do anything hectic, or try to make a risky move,” Brown said.
“I’m not going to rush to get nowhere. Wherever I’m going to be will be there. And life is nothing to play with,” Delonte said.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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Virginia
Game Preview: BYU vs. West Virginia men's basketball
Game Preview: BYU vs. West Virginia men’s basketball
West Virginia looks to go 2-0 on a two-game homestand as they host BYU on Tuesday night at the WVU Coliseum.
WVSports.com offers a look at some key elements of the match-up to get you ready for tip-off.
SERIES: BYU leads 2-1
LAST MEETING: Feb. 3, 2024 in Morgantown — BYU 86, WVU 73
TELEVISION: CBSSN (Tom McCarthy/Chris Walker/Emily Proud)
TIP-OFF: 7:00 p.m. ET
COACHES
Darian DeVries, West Virginia
15-8 (1st season at WVU), 165-63 (7th season overall)
COACH, School
15-8 (1st season at BYU, 1st season overall)
LAST TIME OUT
BYU enters Tuesday coming off an 84-64 loss to Cincinnati on the road. The Cougars made 47 percent of their shots, but made only eight total shots in the second half against the Bearcats. BYU also shot 10-for-29 from three in the loss. Richie Saunders led the Cougars with 15 points scored.
West Virginia enters Tuesday off a 72-61 win over Utah on Saturday. The Mountaineers did it without Javon Small lighting up the stat sheet from the floor. Small was held to only 14 points, with nine of those points coming at the free throw line. WVU went 9-for-24 from beyond the arc, while they forced 10 turnovers leading to 16 points. Amani Hansberry led WVU with 17 points and seven rebounds.
By The Numbers — BYU (15-8, 6-6 Big 12)
BYU is fourth in the Big 12 in points per game at 80 per game, but in each of their six Big 12 losses, the Cougars have not scored more than 74 points and have scored more than 67 only twice. In their wins during league play, they are averaging 83 points per game.
Defensively, the Cougars are allowing teams to score 69.2 points per game on the season, which is 8th in the Big 12. During conference play, BYU is allowing 73.3 points per game, which is 12th in the league.
BYU has the best field goal percentage in the Big 12 during conference play, shooting 47.6 percent. From beyond the arc, they are the second-best shooting team during conference play, as they are making 36.9 percent of their 3-pointers. BYU’s defense ranks 11th in the league in field goal percentage during conference play, while their 3-point defense ranks 13th in the league when playing conference opponents.
BYU ranks 9th in the country in effective field goal percentage, while their offense ranks 17th as a whole in adjusted offensive efficiency. Defensively, BYU is 8th in offensive rebound percentage as a defense in the country.
Over their last five games, their most frequent lineup on the floor has been Egor Demin, Trevin Knell, Richie Saunders, Mawot Mag, and Keba Keita. They are playing 31.2 percent of the possessions together.
Saunders leads BYU and is 9th in the Big 12 this season averaging 15.1 points per game. Demin is second on BYU in scoring averaging 11.1 points per game. Keita leads BYU in rebounding, averaging 7.7 rebounds per game.
BYU comes into the game ranked 41st in the NET and 37th by KenPom. This is considered a Quad 1 game for BYU. They are 2-5 in such games this season, and are 3-3 in Quad 2 games.
By The Numbers — West Virginia (15-7, 6-6 Big 12)
West Virginia is averaging 69.4 points per game this season, which is 15th in the Big 12. Over WVU’s last eight games, the Mountaineers have only surpassed this mark once, and it was on Saturday against Utah. WVU’s opponents are averaging 63.6 points per game this season, and their opponents are averaging 63 points per game over the last eight games as well.
West Virginia is shooting 43 percent from the field, which is 13th in the Big 12, while their opponents are shooting 40.2 percent from the field, which is 4th in the league. West Virginia’s offense has eclipsed the 43-percent mark in each of their past four games. WVU’s opponents have eclipsed their season average in seven of the last eight games against the Mountaineers.
WVU is shooting 33.1 percent from beyond the arc this season, which is 12th in the Big 12 this year, while WVU’s 3-point defense is the best in the Big 12 at 28.8 percent. WVU is 8th in three-point defense by KenPom, while they are 17th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Over their last five games, their most frequent lineup on the floor has been Javon Small, Sencire Harris, Jonathan Powell, Toby Okani, and Amani Hansberry. This lineup has been used 21.4 percent of the time.
WVU’s leading scorer is Small, who leads the Big 12 in scoring as well, averaging 18.9 points per game this season. Hansberry leads WVU in rebounding with 6.0 per game while Small is second with 4.5 per game.
West Virginia is ranked 38th in the NET, and 45th by KenPom. This is considered a Quad 2 game for WVU as the Mountaineers are 1-2 in such games this year.
Standings Implications
Both BYU and West Virginia are 6-6 in league play this year. If the season ended today, they would be in a three-way tie for seventh place in the Big 12, with Kansas State being the other 6-6 team.
Houston and Arizona are tops in the Big 12 at 11-1, Texas Tech is 9-3, Iowa State is 8-4 and Kansas and Baylor are 7-5.
Below both teams is Utah and TCU at 5-7, Cincinnati, UCF, Oklahoma State at 4-8, Arizona State at 3-9, and Colorado at 0-12. This week, WVU plays BYU and Baylor, while BYU plays the Mountaineers and then Kansas State at home.
———-
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