House Democrats reinstated one of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s appointees but still moved to strike four additional picks on top of the nine the Senate already rejected.
Youngkin expressed his disappointment in Democrats with a statement Friday afternoon. “This is a disappointing day, and I hope Virginians remember this moment of petty partisan politics,” he said.
House Democrats did cede the battle on an appointment that the Privileges and Elections Committee previously moved to block last week by reinstating Dominion Energy employee and Republican Party State Central Committee member David Botkins. He will remain in his position on the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Board of Trustees.
One of the blocked appointees is former Democratic state senator Lionell Spruill. Youngkin appointed him to serve on the Norfolk State University Board of Visitors.
Spruill served in the House of Delegates from 1994 until 2016. He served in the Senate from 2016 until he lost in a primary race against Senate Pro Tempore Louise Lucas in 2023 after redistricting placed them in the same district.
They blocked Daniel Cortez from his appointment to the Joint Leadership Council of Veterans Service Organizations.
They blocked Brian Campbell and Stanley Goldfarb from their appointments to the Board of Visitors at Old Dominion University.
“I remain stunned and disappointed that the democratic leadership saw fit to remove these thirteen highly qualified individuals who are nationally recognized leaders in the fields of law, finance, government, education, law enforcement, medicine, and veterans affairs, from these important roles,” Youngkin said. “Most notably, a prominent Jewish civil rights attorney who has been an invaluable asset to George Mason University during a time where the campus has experienced a deeply concerning level of antisemitism and terrorist threats.”