Blue Virginia Weekly News Roundup (1/19/25)

Pres. Biden pardons Speaker Scott; House of Delegates 2024 Fundraising Highlights; Spanberger Leads by 5 Pts in New Poll; Rep. Connolly warns we're “going back to the spoils system, pre-1883”

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• Video: Rep. Jennifer McClellan Says President Joe Biden’s Assertion that the ERA Should Be Considered Ratified Is “an important first step,” “a capstone for [his] career as a champion for women’s rights”

• President Joe Biden Announces Presidential Pardon for VA Speaker Don Scott “for a mistake I made in 1994 - one that changed the course of my life and taught me the true power of redemption”

• STOP Laken Riley Act: DLOV & VALULAC Joint Statement & a Plea to Sen. Mark Warner to Vote NO on This Legislation

• Despite Official 30-Day Period of Mourning for Former President Jimmy Carter, Glenn Youngkin “joins list of pro-Trump governors ordering flags to be flown at full staff on Inauguration Day”

• Audio: Rep. Gerry Connolly Says Trump Assault on Non-Politicized Civil Service Is “going back to the spoils system, pre-1883”

• Virginia House of Delegates 2024 Fundraising Highlights

• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says He’ll Go to Trump’s Inauguration, Wants Him to Succeed, Hope He Ditches “American Carnage” for Optimistic/Unifying View of America

• New Wason Center Virginia Poll: Spanberger Leads Sears by 5 Points (44%-39%); Voters Support Reproductive Freedom Constitutional Amendment by Wide Margin (61%-32%)

• 2H24 Fundraising Totals for Virginia Statewide, Other Offices

• Virginia’s Congressional Democrats Applaud the Biden Administration for Having “worked tirelessly to reach this [Israel-Gaza ceasefire] agreement”

• Sen. Tim Kaine: “While we do not agree on everything, I’m proud to support [Marco Rubio’s] nomination” as Secretary of State

• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Tells Trump’s CIA Director Nominee John Ratcliffe He Must “reassure the men and women of the CIA that they need not fear reprisal for speaking truth to power”

• Piedmont Environmental Council on New Virginia Data Center Legislation: “Now is the time for action. Without state oversight and increased local disclosures, we are headed for a catastrophic collision of unprecedented energy demand and a shortage of generation capacity”

• VIDEO: Virginia House Democratic Caucus Passes Constitutional Amendments to Safeguard Reproductive Rights, Marriage Equality, and Voting Rights

• Virginia House of Delegates Passes, on a Party-Line Vote, Constitutional Amendment Guaranteeing “the fundamental right to reproductive freedom”

• Video: Sen. Tim Kaine to Pete Hegseth – “So you can’t tell me whether someone who has committed a sexual assault is disqualified from being Secretary of Defense?”

• Abigail Spanberger Campaign Reports Nearly $6 Million Raised in 2024, Nearly $9.6 Million Raised in the Race for Virginia’s Governor

• Video: Virginia Legislative Black Caucus Announces Its 2025 Legislative Agenda

• The 2025 VA General Assembly Should Pass HB 2025 to Enhance Road Safety for Wildlife and Motorists

• Video: Responding to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Final State of the Commonweath Address, VA Sen. Lachrecse Aird Says Youngkin Wants To “keep a selective few winning and those who need it the most losing”

• Legislation to Watch in the 2025 Virginia General Assembly Session