TRIANGLE, Va. — Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin joined Marine Corp veterans and their families to celebrate the 246th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corp n what was his first major public event since the election.
“The role that so many veterans in Virginia have played for our country, you can’t help but be humbled and honored to stand right here,” Youngkin said following the official birthday cake ceremony at the National Marine Corp Museum.
“One of the things I really want to do as Governor is press forward to say thank you to our veterans. That’s why one of my big initiatives is to lower the taxes on their retirement,” Youngkin continued.
Eight days ago, Youngkin was declared the Governor-elect following unofficial election results that showed him clearly in the lead.
In the days since, Youngkin said his time has been spent building out his transition team and building relationships.
“I’ve been very encouraged by the receptivity of the Democrats, and the Republicans are ready to get moving as well. I think we’re going to see broad-based support for what we’re going to get done,” Youngkin said. “It’s early days, so we got a lot of work to do between now and January 15. Out of the box here, I’m really encouraged.”
Broadly speaking, the Youngkin agenda is focused on lowering taxes, supporting public safety, and strengthening public education standards.
Although he has not released specifics on how he plans to accomplish the highlights he laid out on the campaign trail, Youngkin said he thought they were generally popular.
“The topics that we’re focused on, these kitchen table issues of low taxes and better schools and safe communities, and oh by the way, a growing job market that can lift up everyone, these are the kitchen table issues,” he said.
For the first time, Youngkin addressed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that passed Congress last week.
The 13 House Republicans who helped pass the legislation have faced backlash from their own party.
“Mine is far less of a good or bad political decision. There’s going to be good support for Virginia that comes out of that bill. Right now, we trying to identify where the support for Virginia can come. We’ve got a lot of infrastructure needs for Virginia,” Youngkin said, citing the port in Hampton Roads and money for rural broadband expansion.
Inauguration Day in Virginia is set for January 15, 2022.