After Democrats rejected Andrew Wheeler as a Cabinet member for Youngkin, the Republican-controlled House of Delegates declined to confirm 11 of former governor Ralph Northam's state board appointees -- which could give the new governor more influence in decisions related to education, workplace safety and the environment.
Youngkin also has moved to bar teachers from exposing students to “inherently divisive concepts” such as critical race theory, the academic exercise to examine systemic racism that is not part of Virginia’s K-12 curriculum but has become conservative shorthand for any attempt to teach cultural awareness.The Board of Education has in recent years supported policies championed by Democrats.
“I hope that this is an anomaly and from this point forward, I hope that both House leadership and the executive branch will live up to its promise of wanting to work together collaboratively for the good of the commonwealth,” Sen. Mamie Locke said on the Senate floor Wednesday. The chief item on the agenda was to reconsider a mandate implemented under Northam for employers to follow Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention guidelines for preventing the spread of the coronavirus, including requiring workers to wear masks and socially distance.
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