RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia lawmakers are set to return to Richmond on Wednesday to consider Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s amendments to dozens of bills, including the state budget.
“Tomorrow’s session could be all sorts of things,” said Randolph-Macon political science professor Rich Meagher. “It could be short and ugly, it could be long and protracted. It could inaugurate a whole summer of work to be done at the General Assembly.”
This reconvened session comes as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle ratcheted up the rhetoric.
On Tuesday, House Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) took to X to criticize Youngkin’s changes to the budget. Scott said the budget passed by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly invests in key areas like education — and that Youngkin is “pretending to be bipartisan.”
Meanwhile, Republicans also took to social media saying Democrats refused to negotiate with Youngkin.
“The thing I would put my money on is a lot of noise this week,” Meagher said. “Some action on some bills and then punting on the budget to see what we are going to do over the next few months to try and get something in place by June 30.”
Meagher said that, with that backdrop, he expects Democrats to reject the majority of Youngkin’s amendments, including ones to eliminate tax increases from the budget — potentially forcing Youngkin to veto the budget altogether.
However, Meagher said that, even if that happens, it’s still likely lawmakers will reach a budget deal before the June 30 deadline, avoiding any potential government shutdown.
“Both the Democrats and, more importantly, the governor, [run] the risk of being blamed for it [a shutdown] — just because the governor is one person representing his whole party and that really could get attached to him,” Meagher said.
If Youngkin does veto the budget, he’ll have to call a special session for lawmakers to pass a compromise budget by the June 30 deadline.
