Glenn Youngkin, the New Virginia Republican Governor, has officially signed a total of 11 executive directives and orders on just his first day in office after the official swearing-in that took place over the weekend.
“No matter who you voted for, I pledge to be your advocate, your voice, your governor,” stated Youngkin as part of his inauguration speech that took place on Saturday. “We stand here on January 15, 2022 filled with hope and optimism for the years ahead. This hope and optimism springs from a shared vision for the future, and also from knowing what we have been through.”
Youngkin did not hesitate to get straight to business trying to make sure he delivered on promises that he gave while out on the campaign trail by rushing to sign a bevy of directives and executive orders targeting a large number of issues that ranged from reducing regulations to the banning of critical race theory in public schools.
The office of the new governor also put forth the following list of executive actions that he officially signed:
- Delivered on his Day One promise to restore the expected excellence in education by ending the use of divisive concepts, including Critical Race Theory, in public education.
- Delivered on his Day One promise to empower Virginia parents in their children’s education by allowing parents to make decisions on whether their child wears a mask in school.
- Delivered on his Day One promise to restore integrity and confidence in the Parole Board of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
- Delivered on his Day One promise to formally look into the wrongdoings in Loudoun County.
- Delivered on his Day One promise to make government work for Virginians by creating the Commonwealth Chief Transformation Officer.
- Delivered on his Day One promise to declare Virginia open for business.
- Delivered on his Day One promise to combat and prevent human trafficking and provide support to survivors.
- Delivered on his Day One promise to establish a commission to combat antisemitism.
- Delivered on his Day One promise to withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
- Delivered on his Day One promise to jump-start our economy by cutting job-killing regulations by over 25 percent.
- Delivered on his Day One promise to restore individual freedoms and personal privacy by rescinding the vaccine mandate for all state-level employees.
This win from Youngkin this past year went down as a turning point for politics in Virginia as Republicans won landslide races for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and won back control of the state’s House of Delegates.
“Since Virginia went blue for Barack Obama in 2008, Republicans have been on a downhill slide, the pace of which quickened during President Donald Trump’s administration,” reported The Associated Press this past year. “The GOP, which hasn’t won a statewide race in Virginia since 2009, saw its legislative majority melt away.”
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