(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Youngkin's Latest Vetoes Ruled Invalid, but Youngkin Copies Trump and Ignores Ruling [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-05-16
I haven’t seen this covered yet, but WaPo is reporting that three of VA Gov Youngkin’s line-item vetoes from the state budget have been ruled invalid by the nonpartisan Clerk of the House of Delegates because they violate the “all-or-nothing” rules pertaining to such vetoes in the state constitution.
Since Democrats regained narrow control over the General Assembly two years ago, Youngkin has exercised his veto power more than 400 times to block Democratic initiatives — more than any previous governor has felt the need to do. However:
three of his recent vetoes to the state budget — related to weight-loss drugs for Medicaid patients, Medicaid payments to nursing homes, and the health plan for state employees — failed on constitutional grounds, according to the longtime clerk, G. Paul Nardo, who informed the governor of his decision in a letter Wednesday. Nardo, a former aide to a Republican House speaker and governor, wrote to Youngkin in his capacity as “Keeper of the Rolls of the Commonwealth.” He said he could not enter the vetoes into the official legislative record — a rare move that Nardo also made in 2014 and 2016 to block vetoes from then-governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who lost a comeback bid to Youngkin in 2021. “Based upon legal advice, it is my opinion that the purported vetoes are not properly made upon [entire budget] items as required by Article V, Section 6 of the Constitution of Virginia,” Nardo wrote. “Therefore, it is my duty not to publish these purported vetoes.” Virginia governors enjoy the power of a line-item veto. But state Supreme Court rulings have held that vetoes must strike budget items in their entirety and cannot strike out conditions or restrictions that apply to an item.
Youngkin of course denies that there was anything wrong with his vetoes, and vows to proceed as if they were properly done, regardless of the questionable legality.
Democrats blasted Youngkin’s claim that the vetoes are in effect, comparing him to President Donald Trump. “Now, the Governor (lame duck) is doing the same thing here in Virginia that Republicans are doing in Washington, DC — ignoring the law, shutting down nursing homes in rural communities and denying needed medications funded by Medicaid,” House Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) wrote on X. State Sen. L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), chairwoman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, declared on X: “He is not a freaking king and if he goes to court on this he will lose.”
So when the state supreme court inevitably rules against him, will he simply ignore them as well? No wonder VA Democrats are on track to secure a decisive win this November.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/5/16/2322825/-Youngkin-s-Latest-Vetoes-Ruled-Invalid-but-Youngkin-Copies-Trump-and-Ignores-Ruling?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
