This story was reported and written by VPM News.
Nine Virginia Senate Democrats are suing three university rectors over the gubernatorial appointment of board members, they announced Tuesday, opening a new field of contention between Virginia’s Democrat-controlled Legislature and Republican executive.
On June 5, the Senate Privileges & Elections Committee voted against confirming eight of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s appointees to the Board of Visitors at George Mason University, University of Virginia and Virginia Military Institute.
"This lawsuit is not about politics – it's about preserving the constitutional balance of power that has served Virginia well for centuries,” said Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas (D–Portsmouth) in a press release.
The Youngkin administration said that the appointees are constitutionally appointed. Attorney General Jason Miyares says the whole senate or the whole house would need to reject the nominees.
The lawsuit is the latest institutional push against Youngkin: In May, House Clerk G. Paul Nardo told Youngkin he would not publish three vetoes of budget issues. In April, House Speaker Don Scott (D–Portsmouth) ruled that two of Youngkin’s line-item vetoes were not submitted in proper form and the vetoes were not heard by the House of Delegates.
It’s not unheard of, but the executive and legislators are rarely directly in court with one another, although their preferences and policy positions are often represented by other groups.
Youngkin told VPM News that this is a fight against his work to dismantle “illegal discrimination,” which is how the governor has referred to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs.
“Democrats clearly want to work to promote that discrimination and the fact that they are challenging my appointees is not only meritless, but it's a waste of time. It's a waste of money,” said Youngkin.
Attorney General Jason Miyares, whose office defends state officials, said in a letter to university rectors that the “authority to refuse a confirmation thus rests with the General Assembly as a whole, not a Senate committee.”
“I have said from the beginning that these are individuals that have been lawfully appointed,” said Miyares speaking alongside Youngkin, “I think it is very unfortunate to see certain individuals in the state Senate that want to try to politicize the governance of these boards and just somehow removing these people. I think they're wrong in the law.”
The complaint, filed on Tuesday, says Miyares’ stance is “inconsistent with settled practice, and it is not how the Senate has chosen to conduct its legislative business.”
The appointees are being sued in their official capacity in Fairfax County Circuit Court, where GMU is located.
In a June 18 letter, Senate Clerk Susan Schaar, wrote to two Republican senators, Minority Leader Ryan McDougle (R–Mechanicsville) and state Sen. Mark Obenshain (R–Harrisonburg), that the Privilege and Elections Committee could reconsider the resolution in committee, or the senate could vote to bring the resolution directly to the senate floor.
“The Senate has consistently refused to discharge a committee except in purely procedural matters,” Schaar wrote. “In my opinion there are still avenues of opportunity, but as I have done with majorities of both parties, I have followed the direction of leadership after discussions of the issue, both on the floor of the Senate and in committee.”
Schaar’s letter did not say the full senate would need to reject Youngkin’s amendments.
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