As Governor Glenn Youngkin reviews the legislation we passed during the 2025 General Assembly session, Virginians should prepare for yet another round of partisan obstruction and record-setting vetoes. As provided by the Constitution of Virginia, “The General Assembly shall reconvene on the sixth Wednesday after adjournment of each regular or special session for the purpose of considering bills which may have been returned by the Governor with recommendations for their amendment and bills and items of appropriation bills which may have been returned by the Governor with his objections.” As such, I am preparing to return to Richmond on Wednesday, April 2nd, for the reconvened session, also known colloquially as the “veto session.” With this a Gubernatorial election year, I fully expect Youngkin to follow the playbook of Trump, Musk and his national Republican counterparts — to undermine bipartisan progress, and put ideology ahead of Virginians’ needs.
Governor Youngkin has until March 24 to act on the 916 bills the General Assembly sent to his desk, including the state budget that funds critical Democratic priorities such as teacher bonuses, disaster relief, and tax rebates for working families. As of today (Wednesday), we have received notice that he has acted on just a handful of these bills.
As you may remember, just last year, the Governor set an all-time record high for vetoing legislation passed by the General Assembly, not just in a single session, but in an entire 4-year gubernatorial term, with 201 bills vetoed. Many of those bills vetoed would have worked to address fundamental issues impacting Virginians such as critical supports for workers and their families like increasing the minimum wage, establishing wage parity and transparency, and establishing a paid family medical leave program, protecting Virginians from gun violence, and more.
Should we come back to Richmond during the reconvene session on April 2 to another round of vetoes, unfortunately, the likelihood of overriding these potential vetoes is minimal, as it necessitates a two-thirds majority vote. However, the Governor will also likely amend several bills. These amendments only require a majority vote for rejection or approval. If rejected, the Governor will then have the final chance to either veto or sign the legislation.
At the federal level, we are watching Republicans repeatedly hold government funding hostage and block bipartisan solutions on everything from infrastructure to healthcare. The government has already been de facto shut down by Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE team, which is causing untold damage to government services, not to mention to thousands of dedicated hardworking federal employees, and makes Congress essentially irrelevant. Youngkin’s anticipated vetoes will reflect the same pattern: gridlock for the sake of gridlock, even if it means harming working families in Virginia. Already, he has encouraged Musk and his minions to arbitrarily and capriciously fire federal workers, many of whom live and work in Virginia.
Just as Democrats in Washington are fighting to protect democracy, workers’ rights, and economic stability in the face of Republican chaos, Democrats in Virginia are ready to challenge Youngkin’s anticipated vetoes and amendments. We will stand firm against his attempts to weaken protections for workers, underfund public schools, and stall progress on clean energy.
Virginians deserve better than the dysfunction we see from Republicans in Washington and Richmond alike. While Youngkin follows the GOP’s obstructionist strategy, Democrats will continue to do the hard work of governing – fighting for policies that strengthen our communities, support working families, and keep Virginia moving forward.