This story was reported and written by our media partner the Virginia Mercury.
Senate Democrats rejected several appointees to Virginia’s governing boards at various colleges on Monday, including former Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli and former state commerce and trade secretary Caren Merrick.
The Monday vote by the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee removed all eight appointees made by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The move, which Democratic leaders attributed to differences in political values, now puts the decision to find replacements in the governor’s hands once again.
“The work and the oversight that we have and as chairman of this committee is to provide accountability and oversight to our prestigious institutions to ensure that those bodies align with our values and what we see in the political climate today, especially coming out of Washington, trying to make their way into our commonwealth,” said Senate Privileges and Elections Committee Chair Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach. “It is our job to stand up and protect those values, and that is what we are doing today.”
In a statement after the meeting, Rouse referred to Cuccinelli and the other seven appointees as “MAGA extremists” and “Project 2025 supporters,” who are opposed to Democrats’ progressive ideals.
Cuccinelli’s “extreme” position on reproductive rights, his work Project 2025 — a conservative plan for how the country should operate under Republican control — and his “hateful attacks” on LGBTQ Virginians prevented Rouse from lending his support to the governor’s appointment for Cuccinelli to serve on the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors, the Democratic senator said.
“He’s a Trump crony who is simply too extreme to have a role in shaping one of our commonwealth’s flagship universities,” Rouse, who is running for lieutenant governor and facing five Democratic contenders, said of Cuccinelli.
Merrick was slated to serve at George Mason University under the governor’s appointment.
The remaining seven nominees were to serve at Virginia Military Institute and George Mason, but they were all denied by the Democratic-controlled committee in an 8-4 vote. Three Senate Republicans were missing from the meeting.
In response to their colleagues’ action, Sen. Glen Sturtevant, R-Chesterfield, and Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach, defended the governor’s appointees, highlighting that the group is made up of former public servants on the state and federal levels, military service members, and private sector leaders.
“There is nothing about any of these individuals that makes them unqualified to serve the commonwealth of Virginia in any of these positions,” Sturtevant said at Monday’s meeting. “These are all highly qualified appointees.”
DeSteph and Sturtevant also questioned why a joint subcommittee made up of members from both the Senate and House Privileges and Elections Committees had not met to review the statements and economic interests of the appointees, per state code. Rouse directed the question to the subcommittee’s attorney who said he was not aware of if the subcommittee is active.
“We have to follow the law and what the law says,” Sturtevant said, adding that any motion on the appointees moving forward would be “out of order,” “improper” and “not in compliance” with state law.
DeSteph, who was uncertain if the committee was properly formed, added that the state law says that there “shall” be a subcommittee.
“This isn’t a ‘may.’ This isn’t a ‘you can ignore this.’ This is a ‘shall,” DeSteph said. “Normally, when something is in code that strict we kind of do it. Otherwise this is Step A before Step B.”
Staff was unable to determine when the subcommittee last met or how many of the governor’s appointees have been confirmed. Rouse estimated hundreds.
Earlier this year, Democrats also blocked nine of Youngkin’s appointees, including two Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors nominees.
Leader sends letter to rectors
In a June 9 letter, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, wrote to all the heads of Virginia’s public universities that state code requires all governing body members to be confirmed by the General Assembly, stating that they “will not confirm individuals who do not possess the judgment, character, or willingness to follow the principles” he outlined in the letter.
Some of those principles require board members to understand their fiduciary duties, to commit to the independent governance of such institutions, and to avoid excessive partisan inclinations.
“The General Assembly takes seriously its oversight responsibilities regarding Virginia’s public universities,” Surovell wrote. “Should any Board of Visitors fail to exercise appropriate independent judgment or allow external influences to compromise their fiduciary duties, the General Assembly will not hesitate to examine the situation and take whatever legislative action may be necessary.”
The letter went on to remind university heads that they are accountable to the General Assembly and that the boards must exercise independent judgment and are not obligated to the directives of the governor.
“Virginia is proud to maintain one of the strongest public higher education systems in America,” the letter states. “Our commonwealth is home to some of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious institutions, and they deserve governance that is independent, principled, and focused solely on their academic mission and service to the commonwealth.”
State legislators are now considering other university BOV nominees, a process that is slated to continue through the end of the year.
If Youngkin plans to appoint new members to fill expiring seats, he has until the end of his term in January.
