This story was reported and written by our media partner the Virginia Mercury.
The Virginia Supreme Court has refused to take up a case that suspended multiple appointees by Gov. Glenn Youngkin from serving on three Virginia university governing boards.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares appealed to the court after the Fairfax County Circuit Court suspended eight governing board appointments from serving at George Mason University, Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia. The 15-member Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections rejected 22 appointments in the past year and the issue has been one of several that rocked Virginia’s higher education landscape in 2025.
The court heard arguments from the attorney general’s office, representing the three governing board rectors, asking for a temporary injunction be lifted in order for appointees to serve less than three weeks ago. Attorneys representing the nine Democratic state senators who requested the temporary injunction also made arguments asking for the lower court’s order to be upheld.
In its order on Monday, the high court said the case must be allowed to continue and that it will not review the temporary decision, but the rectors can appeal the overall final outcome later.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, posted on social media that the Supreme Court of Virginia “affirmed the Senate P&E Committees authority to reject gubernatorial nominations because MAGA rules don’t work in Virginia where we still have a rule of law that Youngkin and Miyares have to follow.”
In Virginia, when the governor nominates a candidate to a board or commission to a seat, they need the General Assembly’s approval. During each legislative session, it is common practice for the General Assembly to vote on the list of gubernatorial candidates in both chambers.
However, senators rejected the appointees outside of the regular session, a move they said would protect Virginia’s institutions of higher learning from partisan attacks but that Youngkin and Miyares said flouted the law.
The attorney general’s office did not immediately comment or respond to what its next step will be following the Supreme Court’s decision.
The attorney general’s office had previously argued that the circuit court’s decision was incorrect, asserting that the court lacked jurisdiction and that the vote by the senate committee did not meet the requirement for a final refusal because there were other ways for appointments to be confirmed.
However, the senators, some of whom serve on the committee, argued that said the committee’s decision to block the board nominees was a “definitive” refusal.
No trial date has been set yet in Fairfax County. It’s uncertain when the case will continue, as Youngkin’s administration prepares to transition out of power and with Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger’s team being sworn in mid-January.
The Mercury contacted Attorney General-elect Jay Jones for comment on if his office would continue to pursue the case once he is in office, but has not received a response.