Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaking with reporters on April 8, 2024. (Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)
After a Democratic-controlled Senate committee rejected 14 of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s appointments to university boards last Thursday, the governor’s office blasted the lawmakers in a letter Friday, labeling the committees’ actions as “unprecedented attempts to intimidate board members” that have harmed Virginia institutions of higher learning.
The missive, dated Aug. 29, is the latest turn in an ongoing battle between Youngkin, who as governor has the authority to add and remove people to Virginia college boards, and Democratic legislators, who have bucked the governor’s picks over concerns about their backgrounds and ideological positions, and who have the power to confirm or reject board appointees.
Last week, Democrats on the Senate Privileges & Elections Committee rejected 14 more appointments, bringing the total number they’ve blocked this year to 22.
The Democratic lawmakers said they are trying to protect institutions from partisan attacks, including those launched after President Donald Trump’s administration initiated several investigations into Virginia’s universities, primarily the University of Virginia and George Mason University.
The governor’s administration has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to lift a temporary suspension on the appointments for three governing boards at Virginia’s higher education institutions brought forward by Senate Democrats. The administration doubled down on that course in the Aug. 29 letter.
Members of the administration wrote that the Democrats’ actions are counterproductive, and the letter, signed by the governor’s chief of staff, John Littel, and counsel Richard Cullen, expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will remind the Senate committee of its role in the confirmation process.
“While claiming to care so deeply about Virginia’s prestigious institutions of higher education, your actions have consistently caused harm to the governance and operation of our colleges and universities,” the letter states. “Your unprecedented attempts to intimidate board members threaten the best-in-class governance that we have worked so hard to build. And, at the same time, you ask the governor to abdicate his constitutional and statutory duty to ensure that our colleges are properly governed. The request is so illogical it does not bear addressing.”
The response from the governor’s office is a rebuttal to an earlier letter from Senate Democratic leadership — Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Mamie Locke, D-Hampton — sent before the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections met last week and rejected 14 of Youngkin’s appointees on boards at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), the University of Virginia (UVA) and its affiliates, and George Mason University (GMU). Youngkin made the appointments to fill vacant positions.
In the letter, Senate leaders urged the governor to suspend any further appointments to Virginia’s university governing boards and said some of Youngkin’ appointees have introduced additional “controversy” and “division,” and have “abdicated” their responsibilities.
They wrote that Virginia’s universities need members who “unite rather than divide,” possess relevant experience in higher education governance, and are committed to protecting academic freedom and institutional integrity.
The rebuttal from Youngkin’s office did not specify whether the governor would suspend making any further appointments.
Instead, the governor’s team criticized the committee’s claims and questioned its authority, asserting that the General Assembly has not rejected any of the appointments and that the appointees are “eminently qualified.”
The letter detailed some of the backgrounds of the appointments including a former president and CEO of Mastercard International, a vice chairman of Goldman Sachs, a former acting Federal Trade Commission chairwoman, a decorated Marine Corps officer, former members of the General Assembly, a former Attorney General of Virginia, and a former U.S. Assistant Attorney General.
These individuals bring “deep experience in government, law, corporate leadership, military service, and university governance,” the letter states.
The governor’s administration argues that the appointees are allowed to continue serving until the General Assembly reconvenes in January, when the full body of legislators can thoroughly review the qualifications and financial interests of the appointments.
On Monday, Surovell didn’t appear surprised that the governor’s office denounced his colleagues’ work to block appointees.
“The lights are on at our house, but one of the things we’ve learned in the last three and half years is that the governor doesn’t have a lot of interest in working with the legislature on anything,” Surovell said. “The Trump administration’s assault on our institutions of higher education is going to be our problem a lot longer than his, and I’d hope he’d work with us on defending our schools.”
In the next legislative session, Democrats are considering introducing an amendment to the state code that would specify that gubernatorial appointments cannot take effect until confirmed by the General Assembly.
A tumultuous summer in Virginia’s higher ed landscape
– On Aug. 29, UVA launched a website in its search for its next president. Former president Jim Ryan stepped down after the US Department of Justice, put pressure on the institution, following Title VI complaints and political scrutiny.
– The U.S. Department of Education claimed George Mason University’s hiring practices violated civil rights law. President Gregory Washington’s attorney pushed back against the proposal to apologize in an Aug. 25 letter.
– On Aug. 15, VMI named its 16th superintendent after failing to renew the contract Ret. Major Gen. Cedric Wins, the institution’s first Black superintendent. The Board of Visitors is under new leadership after its president stepped down.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX