RICHMOND, Va. — Friday afternoon, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced he was vetoing dozens of items in the budget to provide the state a financial cushion against the impacts from President Donald Trump's overhaul of the federal government.
Youngkin also reiterated his support for Trump amid ongoing federal budget and job cuts.
"If there are bumps in the road down the way, we can handle them," Youngkin said. "What the President is doing is resetting trade imbalances that need to be reset. He is also reestablishing fiscal responsibility in Washington."
Youngkin said he is line-item vetoing dozens of entries in the state budget to remove $900-million from the $3.2-billion surplus lawmakers had to work with this past session, adding he didn't think it all needed to be spent with the uncertainty.
He said nearly $700 million of the vetoes apply to 10 capital projects, mostly in higher education.
"All of them are in a position where they're not in construction," he said. "That, in fact, this delay really will not interrupt the overall process of building them, and it does preserve for the General Assembly to come back and utilize different tools in order to fund them."
The other items, according to Youngkin, included projects he said weren't ready for prime time, had other funding sources, or already had some funding secured.
"I suggested to everyone, let's use the funds that are there first, and then come back in January and ask for more," Youngkin said.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell criticized the vetoes and Youngkin's approach, saying the governor didn't talk with budget leadership in the General Assembly during session to reach a compromise, adding some of the items vetoed were his proposals originally.
"The governor's actions here are really more akin to behaving like a CEO or a candidate instead of as a governor," Surovell said. "It's very disappointing and aggravating that we're going to have a billion, you know, almost the billion almost the billion dollars cut out of our budget that we've never even talked to him about."
Surovell said he's at least glad Youngkin is talking about the risk the Trump administration poses to Virginia's economy, but says capital projects and infrastructure are ways to stimulate the economy.
"This is exactly the wrong kind of spending to be cutting. So, it's baffling to me as to why the governor is rejecting things he proposed and rejecting this kind of," Surovell said.
Friday is also the deadline for Youngkin to take action on bills he made changes to but that were rejected by lawmakers and whether he'll accept them as written or veto them entirely.
These included bills on social media restrictions for teens, automated license plate reader regulations, and junk fees.
Youngkin didn't go into specifics, but said he would be vetoing some and approving others.
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