Glenn Youngkin

Youngkin was sworn in as governor on January 15, 2022. He took office alongside his Republican ticket mates, Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears, the first woman of color elected to statewide office in Virginia, and Attorney General Jason Miyares, the first Latino elected to statewide office in the state. The Washington Post called this ticket "historically diverse" and reported that it was a sign of "inroads" made by the Republican Party "in the African American and Latino communities." Former Democratic Governor of Virginia Douglas Wilder commented after the election that Republicans had "one-upped" Democrats with the historic achievement, which, he said, showed that Democrats "can't take the [Black] community for granted."

Youngkin was inaugurated two years into the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. His first week in office coincided with the January 14–17, 2022 North American winter storm. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the morning before his inauguration, Youngkin participated in a community service project at "the Reconciliation Statue along the Richmond Slave Trail in Shockoe Bottom, which was home to the second largest domestic slave market in the United States before the Civil War." Later that night, an inauguration eve party was held for Youngkin at the Omni Richmond Hotel. Another inauguration eve event for Youngkin was later held at the Science Museum of Virginia. On the night of his inauguration, Youngkin held a celebratory event at the Richmond Main Street Station.

School systems throughout Virginia began dropping their mask mandates in mid-February, after Youngkin signed a bill requiring that they do so by March 1. The ACLU expanded the scope of its lawsuit against the Youngkin administration to include this new law, and on March 23, 2022, a federal judge decided the lawsuit by ruling that school districts in Virginia could choose to require masking in areas frequented by the plaintiffs. The ruling did not overturn Youngkin's executive order or the state law and only applies to school systems attended by the plaintiffs. Following an appeal by the Youngkin administration, a settlement was reached in December 2022. The settlement allows mask mandates under similar terms to those established by the March court ruling.

Youngkin finished announcing his cabinet nominees on January 19, 2022, with his choice for Chief Diversity Officer. This position was established by Youngkin's immediate predecessor, Ralph Northam, in response to a scandal involving racist imagery appearing on Northam's medical school yearbook page - a scandal that nearly caused Northam to resign from office. The idea for a Chief Diversity Officer was born out of a commitment made by Northam to focus the remainder of his term on advancing racial equity in Virginia. Youngkin did not announce a nomination for Chief Diversity Officer until after his inauguration, which led to media speculation that he would be eliminating the position. Youngkin's nominee for Chief Diversity Officer, Angela Sailor, was an executive at the Heritage Foundation and held multiple roles in George W. Bush's presidential administration.

According to The Washington Post, conflict continued to escalate throughout the 2022 legislative session between Youngkin and Democratic state legislators as a result of the dispute that had begun with Wheeler's nomination. Youngkin went on to issue more vetoes during that session than any of his immediate predecessors had done during their own first years in office. All of the bills vetoed by Youngkin had been sponsored by Democrats and had passed the legislature with bipartisan support. In several cases, Youngkin vetoed bills sponsored by Democratic state senators while signing identical bills that had been sponsored by Republican delegates. It is common for identical bills to be passed in both chambers of the Virginia legislature, and it is considered standard for governors to sign both versions of such bills. In response to Youngkin's vetoes, The Washington Post wrote, "Typically a governor signs both versions, allowing both sponsors bragging rights for getting a bill passed into law. Longtime state legislators said they could not think of a case in which a governor signed one bill and vetoed its companion." The publication further wrote that "the vetoes were widely seen as payback" for the portion of Youngkin's nominees that had been rejected by Democrats.

Moran served pro bono in the administration during the first half of 2022 as both Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs. He did so while on paid leave from two political consulting firms; one of these firms "runs public affairs campaigns designed to influence legislators through such things as TV ads and polling", according to The Washington Post. That publication, along with The Richmond Times-Dispatch, noted that Moran's role in the Youngkin administration drew scrutiny for presenting a possible conflict of interest. The former publication wrote at the time that while there was precedent for Virginia governors to have unpaid advisors, "Moran’s situation is especially unusual, because he works full time for the administration with a state title, but without upfront disclosure that he’s a volunteer on someone else’s payroll." In June 2022, the same publication wrote that Moran was "transitioning to a new role as [Youngkin's] full-time senior political adviser".

During his first week as governor, Youngkin set up an email tipline to receive reports about what he characterized as "divisive practices" in Virginia schools. The tipline was announced in a January 21, 2022 news release focused on Youngkin's executive order banning school mask mandates. Three days later, Youngkin discussed the tipline on a conservative radio show, where he said that parents should use the tipline to report "any instances where they feel that their fundamental rights are being violated, where their children are not being respected, where there are inherently divisive practices in their schools." Speaking of the practices to be reported, he said on the radio show that his administration would "catalogue it all" and begin "rooting it out".

On February 3, 2022, Youngkin explained that his administration was "responding" to complaints submitted to the tipline but did not say whether there would be ramifications for teachers mentioned in those complaints. That month, it was reported that multiple inquiries by The Virginian-Pilot about how complaints sent to the tipline would be used by the Youngkin administration had gone unanswered and that FOIA requests to see emails sent to the tipline had been denied by the Youngkin administration, citing the "working papers and correspondence" exemption in Virginia's FOIA law. In April, a group of over a dozen media outlets sued the Youngkin administration for access to the emails. The lawsuit argued that the "working papers and correspondence" exemption did not apply in this instance, because access to the emails had not been restricted solely to Youngkin's office (Youngkin had allowed a conservative think tank to access the emails). In August, a nonprofit watchdog group, American Oversight, and a law firm, Ballard Spahr, joined in bringing a second lawsuit against the Youngkin administration, seeking access to the emails. In November, the first lawsuit concluded with a settlement that granted the media outlets access to 350 of the emails, representing a small portion of the total number. Shortly after the settlement was reached, the Youngkin administration revealed that it had closed down the tipline in September. The Washington Post reported that the administration had "quietly pulled the plug on the tipline...as tips dried up". The second lawsuit is still ongoing.

During Virginia's 2022 legislative session, a bill concerning elections for the Loudoun County School Board was amended by Youngkin in an effort that, if successful, would have caused elections to be held a year in advance for seven of the board's nine members. A spokesperson for Youngkin described the amendment as an attempt at "holding [the board] to account" for their handling of two sexual assaults that had occurred in that county's school system a year earlier. Opposing the Loudoun County School Board over a variety of issues had been a major focus of Youngkin's gubernatorial campaign. In response to Youngkin's proposed amendment, Democrats, several political scientists, and the county school board itself charged that Youngkin was attempting to subvert the election results that had placed the board members in office. The Washington Post reported that Youngkin's effort had "stunned many state political observers as an intrusion into local election integrity without modern precedent in Virginia." The publication further wrote at the time that the amendment was one of the "more controversial actions" that Youngkin had taken and led to "one of the harshest partisan eruptions" in the Virginia state legislature since the start of Youngkin's term. Legal scholar A.E. Dick Howard argued that the amendment was likely in violation of Virginia's Constitution, which Howard had helped to write in the 1970s. The proposed amendment passed in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates but was defeated in the Democratic-controlled State Senate.

In September 2022, the Youngkin administration announced that it would be repealing protections for transgender students in Virginia schools. These protections had been established through a bipartisan bill signed by Northam in 2020. That bill requires that policies pertaining to transgender students be in compliance throughout all school districts with "model policies" developed by the Virginia Department of Education. Under Northam, these model policies had mandated that students be allowed access to school facilities and nonathletic school programs corresponding with their gender identity; the policies deferred to the Virginia High School League in matters pertaining to transgender student athletes. The policies also mandated that all school staff use the preferred name and pronoun of each student. Under Youngkin, the model policies were revised by the Virginia Department of Education to mandate that student-access to school facilities and programs be determined by biological sex rather than by gender identity; the policy revisions introduced under Youngkin also mandate that legal documentation be provided before school records can reflect a change in a student's name or gender and that a written request by a parent be provided before school staff can refer to a student by that student's preferred name or pronoun; even after such a request has been submitted by a parent, Youngkin's policies do not require school staff to comply with parental preferences when addressing students. It has been suggested that Youngkin's policies may require teachers to out students to their parents, as the policies state that schools cannot "encourage or instruct teachers to conceal material information about a student from the student’s parent, including information related to gender."

The Youngkin administration framed its replacement of the Northam administration's policies as part of a "commitment to preserving parental rights and upholding the dignity and respect of all public school students." The Washington Post noted that Youngkin's actions fit into a national trend among Republicans, writing that "at least 300 pieces of legislation" curtailing the rights of transgender Americans had been introduced throughout the country in 2022, mostly focusing on children. Despite the legal requirement that they do so, most Virginia school districts had failed to adopt the Northam administration's model policies by the time that the Youngkin administration's replacement policies were announced. Other school districts have refused to adopt the Youngkin administration's model policies, expressing the view that these policies are in violation of state law.

During the 2022 United States elections, Youngkin campaigned frequently for Republicans in other states, supporting both candidates who had embraced Trump's false claims about the 2020 election and those who had not. This led to The Washington Post writing that Youngkin had "demonstrated uncommon flexibility on an issue that for others...represents a bright line." Youngkin's refusal to distance himself from conspiracy theorists within his own party has elicited criticism from some Republicans, such as Liz Cheney.

In May 2022, following the leaked draft opinion of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Youngkin joined with Maryland Governor Larry Hogan in calling on the federal government to intervene against peaceful protests targeting the homes of conservative Supreme Court Justices living in Virginia and Maryland. Commenting on these abortion rights protests, Youngkin said, "We have moments where common sense needs to prevail. And common sense here fully dictates that the ability to, in fact, demonstrate and express your views is protected under the First Amendment. It’s just not appropriate nor is it legal to do it at the residence of justices." Youngkin was criticized by some conservatives for seeking federal action rather than enforcing a state law that bars protesters from targeting private residences. The state law was dismissed as "weak" by Youngkin. The Washington Post described the state law's constitutionality as unclear while noting that "enforcement would be up to local authorities in Fairfax County, not the governor." The publication noted that Youngkin and Hogan both believed the protests to be in violation of "a federal law that forbids demonstrations intended to sway judges on pending cases". Youngkin sought to block the protesters by having a perimeter established around Justice Samuel Alito's neighborhood, but his request was denied by Fairfax County officials, on the grounds that they believed such a perimeter would have been unconstitutional. In June 2022, Youngkin responded to the protests by introducing an amendment to the state budget, that if adopted, would have made it a felony in Virginia to participate in any protest seeking to intimidate or influence a judge. That budget amendment was defeated after receiving bipartisan opposition in the state legislature.

Shortly before taking office, Youngkin announced that he would challenge the Biden administration's employer vaccine mandate. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the mandate for certain health care workers but against the mandate for other private employers, Youngkin co-signed a letter with West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, asking the Biden administration to exempt rural and state run hospitals from the mandate, citing staffing shortages at many of those hospitals. In October 2022, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended that the COVID-19 vaccine be added to each state's list of required immunizations for school children, Youngkin stated that he would oppose any effort by the legislature to implement the recommendation.

While running for governor, Youngkin said that he would model his public school mask policy after that of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by banning local school boards from implementing their own mask mandates. Youngkin reversed this position later in the campaign, saying through his PR team that although he opposed Virginia's statewide public school mask mandate, he would give local school boards the discretion to implement their own mask policies. After winning the election, he re-emphasized his intention to repeal the statewide mandate while still allowing for local mandates. On his first day in office, January 15, 2022, he reversed his position again, signing an executive order that both repealed the statewide mandate and attempted to nullify any local mandates. This executive order was challenged by two lawsuits contending that it was in violation of state law at the time and exceeded Youngkin's constitutional authority. It was also challenged by the ACLU in a lawsuit arguing that the order was discriminatory against medically vulnerable students. Youngkin called on Virginia parents to cooperate with school principals while the lawsuits proceeded. On February 16, 2022, Youngkin signed a bill that made masking optional in all public schools throughout Virginia. The bill passed along mostly party lines and took effect on March 1. The ACLU's lawsuit against the Youngkin administration was decided on March 23, in a ruling that maintains Youngkin's ban on school mask mandates except for in areas frequented by students that were represented in the lawsuit. The Youngkin administration appealed the ruling, and in December 2022, reached a settlement with the plaintiffs. As described by The Associated Press, that settlement "largely tracks the terms" of the court ruling from March. The settlement allows mask mandates to be implemented by Virginia public schools in areas frequented by the plaintiffs, but also allows alternative seating or class assignments for any student impacted by such a mandate who does not want to wear a mask; the settlement further states that schools should consider alternatives to peer masking. Although the settlement applies only to students represented in the lawsuit, the ACLU has expressed the view that the settlement established a precedent allowing the same accommodations upon request for any other medically vulnerable students attending Virginia public schools.

Two other executive actions signed by Youngkin on his first day in office related to his pandemic response policies. One rescinded the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all state employees; the other called for a reevaluation of the workplace safety standards that the Northam administration had adopted as a pandemic mitigation strategy. On February 16, 2022, Youngkin convened the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry's Safety and Health Codes Board to vote on whether to revoke those safety standards. A few days before the vote, House Republicans rejected the nominations of two members that had been appointed to the board by Northam; both members were expected to vote against revoking the safety standards. Their nominations were rejected as part of a larger process of expelling Northam appointees from several state boards, which was undertaken by Republicans in response to Democrats defeating Youngkin's nomination of Andrew Wheeler to serve as a cabinet secretary.

The remaining members of the Safety and Health Codes Board voted 7 to 3 in favor of recommending that the safety standards be revoked. Following a public comment period, the board reconvened on March 21 and voted to officially revoke the safety standards. Virginia had been the first state to adopt workplace safety standards in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the standards, which included a mask mandate for workers in high-risk indoor areas, officially ended on March 23, 2022.

Upon taking office, Youngkin extended a limited state of emergency that had been implemented by the Northam administration ten days earlier to increase hospital capacity and allow medical professionals licensed in other states to practice in Virginia. The extension was originally set to last until February 21, 2022 but was renewed through March 22 of that year.

In January 2022, the Virginia Department of Health, under Youngkin's authority, became one of the first states to cease efforts at contact tracing every positive case of COVID-19. Health officials with the department explained that the decision was made primarily due to the increased difficulty of contact tracing the omicron variant. These officials further explained that the policy would allow the department to better focus its resources on responding to "outbreaks and cases in high risk settings" and that individuals who test positive should continue to personally notify contacts.

In May 2022, Youngkin announced that on July 5 of that year, he would be scaling back the telework policy for Virginia's executive branch employees, which had been expanded two years earlier by Northam in response to the pandemic. Under Youngkin's policy, those employees can telework one day a week or on a temporary basis with approval from the head of their agency, two days a week with approval from a cabinet secretary, and three or more days a week with approval from Youngkin's chief of staff. As noted by The Richmond-Times Dispatch, "employees of state colleges and universities, legislative or judicial agencies, or independent commissions and authorities" are all exempt from the policy.

In 2022, Youngkin signed a bill downscaling the Marcus alert system, which had been established by Northam about two years earlier in response to both the George Floyd protests of 2020 and the 2018 killing in Richmond of Marcus-David Peters. Wherever implemented, the Marcus alert system requires that mental health professionals be involved in responding to any mental health crises reported to 911. Certain localities in Virginia began adopting the system in late 2021. When signed into law by Northam, the system was required to be implemented statewide by July 2026. The legislation signed by Youngkin in 2022 exempts Virginia localities with populations of under 40,000 from having to adopt the Marcus alert system. This exemption applies to about 67% of Virginia localities and over 19% of the state's population. It was adopted due to concerns about the cost of implementing the system statewide.

Another bill signed by Youngkin in 2022 bans law enforcement agencies in Virginia from using quotas for ticket-writing or arrests. This bill, which was proposed by the Virginia Police Benevolent Association, also states that "the number of arrests made or summonses issued by a law-enforcement officer shall not be used as the sole criterion for evaluating the law-enforcement officer's job performance." Both parties in the state legislature supported the bill. Although as originally written, the bill provided for violations of its bans to be investigated by the FBI, this provision was removed from the final bill.

An amendment that Youngkin introduced to the 2022 state budget limited the number of inmates who could qualify for an expanded early release program that was scheduled to begin later that summer. The program allows inmates in Virginia to earn time off their sentences through good behavior credits. It had been expanded through legislation signed in 2020 by Youngkin's predecessor, Ralph Northam, so that Virginia's cap on how many good behavior credits could be earned was raised for most inmates. As this expansion of the program was originally designed, the newly available credits could not be used to reduce sentences for violent crimes but could be used by inmates convicted of violent crimes to reduce any concurrent or consecutive sentences that had been imposed for nonviolent crimes. Youngkin and other Republicans characterized this aspect of the program as an unintentional loophole that needed correcting. Democrats largely disagreed with that characterization, arguing that the expanded program had been intentionally designed to give violent offenders the ability to reduce sentences unrelated to violent offenses. Youngkin's amendment was adopted by the General Assembly along mostly party lines. It made inmates convicted of violent crimes fully ineligible for the expanded program, meaning that these inmates could not use the newly available credits to reduce any sentences.

Although the expanded early release program was approved by Northam in 2020, it did not take effect until July 1, 2022. Because the newly available credits were made applicable retroactively for anyone who would have earned them earlier in their sentences, about 550 inmates convicted of violent crimes were set to be released once the law took effect in July 2022. Youngkin's amendment was approved a few weeks before these inmates would have been released. As a result, these inmates were not released at that time, even though they had already been told of their planned release.

In 2022, Youngkin signed a two-year, $165 billion state budget featuring $4 billion in tax cuts. According to The Washington Post, the "centerpiece" of this budget was "a big increase in the standard deduction for personal income tax." Rather than doubling the standard deduction, as Youngkin had proposed, the budget increased it by about 80%, raising it from $4,500 to $8,000 for individuals and from $9,000 to $16,000 for couples filing jointly. The budget included one-time tax rebates and a partial elimination of Virginia's grocery tax, both of which aligned with Northam's own outgoing budget proposals rather than with Youngkin's preferred tax policies. As Northam had proposed, the one-time tax rebates amounted to $250 for individuals and $500 for couples, slightly less than Youngkin's desired $300 for individuals and $600 for couples, and although the final budget enacted Northam and Youngkin's shared goal of eliminating a 1.5% grocery tax that had been levied by the state, Democrats blocked Youngkin's additional proposal to eliminate a separate 1% grocery tax levied by Virginia localities. Fully included in the budget was Youngkin's proposal to enact a tax exemption of up to $40,000 a year for military pensions. According to The Washington Post, the exemption will be "phased in over several years." Another proposal of Northam's included in the budget was making up to 15% of the earned income tax credit refundable. This policy, designed to benefit low-income tax filers, was described by The Richmond-Times Dispatch as "a longtime Democratic priority" and had been opposed by Republicans. It was included in the budget as a compromise between the two parties.

During the 2022 legislative session, Youngkin failed to enact a proposal of his that would have required Virginia localities with rising real estate values to either gain approval through public referendums for any increases in revenue resulting from local real estate taxes or else lower their local real estate tax rates. This proposal was described by the Youngkin administration as "a pillar" of its tax plan.

Although the budget signed by Youngkin in 2022 passed with bipartisan support, it was opposed by several Democrats who argued that too much of the state's record surplus was spent on tax cuts at the expense of funding for affordable housing, mental health services, gun violence prevention, and transportation.

The state budget signed by Youngkin in 2022 included a $150 million investment in the Virginia Housing Trust Fund, which is devoted to providing affordable housing in the state. This amounted to half the total Northam had proposed investing in the fund. According to WVTF, a Virginia NPR affiliate, the state would need to invest $5 billion annually to fully address its affordable housing needs. Youngkin has said that he opposes any further investments in affordable housing.

In 2022, Youngkin vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have given judges the ability to mandate that landlords address code violations. Under current Virginia law, negligent landlords can be fined or have their properties condemned, but localities have no way to mandate that safety hazards be addressed by landlords. In explaining his veto, Youngkin called the legislation "unnecessary" and said that tenants should share responsibility with landlords for maintaining safe living conditions.

In early April 2022, Youngkin signed a bill allowing school parents throughout Virginia to review and opt their children out of any educational material containing "sexually explicit content"; any opted out student would be provided with alternative material. At the start of Youngkin's governorship, there were no statewide laws in the nation allowing for parental review of sexually explicit content in school curriculum. Shortly before Youngkin signed the bill, a similar bill was signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Virginia Democrats have criticized the bill signed by Youngkin for taking control over education away from local school systems and have argued that its definition of "sexually explicit content" is "overly broad". The bill passed along mostly party lines. A similar bill, known as the "Beloved Bill", was vetoed by McAuliffe in both 2016 and 2017. That bill, which had originated when a conservative activist took issue with the inclusion of Beloved in her high school senior son's AP English class, became one of the focal points of Virginia's 2021 gubernatorial election, and reviving the bill was identified by The Washington Post as "one of the key promises" of Youngkin's campaign. The provisions of the bill will take effect in 2023.

In May 2022, Youngkin sent a letter to the Council of Presidents overseeing Virginia colleges and universities, urging mandatory political diversity in their hiring practices. That year, he introduced a budget amendment, which succeeded in the General Assembly, requiring that the state's public colleges and universities promote "free speech and diversity of thought on [their] campuses."

In August 2022, Youngkin enlisted the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative think tank, to assist in revising Virginia's educational standards for history and social sciences. In November of that year, the Virginia Department of Education released a proposal for those revisions, which the department stated would make the state's educational standards easier "to understand and implement". The proposal was not adopted by the Virginia Board of Education, after it received what The Washington Post described as "overwhelming pushback from parents, teachers and community members who characterized the new standards as lacking context, being politically motivated and even being 'whitewashed.'" That publication wrote that the proposal "places less emphasis on the perspectives of marginalized peoples, removes suggested discussions of racism and its lingering effects, and promotes the workings of the free market, with limited government intervention".

During the 2022 legislative session, Youngkin advocated for a bill that would have reversed reforms that had been recently adopted to the admissions processes at some Governor's Schools in Virginia, specifically at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria and at Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies in Richmond. The reforms that Youngkin wanted to reverse had been adopted to increase racial diversity among the student bodies at those two schools, where Black and Hispanic students had been consistently underrepresented. Although race blind, the reformed admissions processes achieved their goal by implementing an approach largely based on geographic and socioeconomic factors. The bill supported by Youngkin would have banned such an approach, characterizing the use of geographic and socioeconomic factors as "proxy discrimination". This bill passed in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates but failed in the Democratic-controlled State Senate. A separate bill signed by Youngkin that same year bans Governor's Schools in Virginia "from discriminating against any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the process of admitting students to such school." This bill, which received bipartisan support, was described by The Richmond Times-Dispatch as "a watered-down version" of Youngkin's preferred bill. According to WRIC-TV, a Virginia ABC News affiliate, it has been argued that the bill signed by Youngkin "has no legal impact because it largely reiterates existing federal law."

Youngkin inherited a record surplus in state revenue from Northam, which was projected to continue growing during the state's then-upcoming budget cycle. As a result of this surplus, Youngkin had the opportunity to sign a biennial state budget in 2022 that committed $19.2 billion to education, a record for the state even when accounting for inflation. This exceeded the $16.95 billion in education spending that Republicans had wanted to include in the biennial budget. Republicans agreed to the higher amount as part of a budget compromise with Democrats. In exchange for getting much of their desired education spending enacted, Democrats agreed to enact several of Youngkin's tax cut proposals.

School construction and maintenance received $1.25 billion in the 2022 biennial state budget. This exceeds the amount that had been allotted for these needs in Northam's outgoing budget proposals but is a small fraction of the $25 billion that the Virginia Department of Education says it would take to fully replace the state's oldest schools.

The Virginia Preschool Initiative was expanded by the 2022 biennial state budget. This program provides preschool for many low-income children in the state. Prior to 2022, the program only served children aged four or older, and only families earning less than the federal poverty line could qualify. The 2022 state budget that Youngkin signed lowered the age eligibility to include three year olds and raised the income threshold to 300% of the federal poverty line.

The state budget that Youngkin signed for 2022 includes $100 million for re-establishing lab schools in Virginia. These K-12 public schools, which are separate from charter schools, had previously existed in the state and had continued to be allowed under Virginia law before Youngkin came into office, but none remained operating in the state by the start of Youngkin's term. Previous lab schools in Virginia had been established as partnerships with institutions of higher learning; only public colleges and universities with teacher training programs were allowed to enter into these partnerships. An amendment that Youngkin introduced to the 2022 state budget removed the requirement that all lab schools in the state act as teacher training programs. It also opened lab school partnerships to be formed with community colleges or certain private universities. Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears had to break a tie vote in the State Senate for this budget amendment to be approved by the General Assembly. Youngkin has additionally advocated for allowing private businesses to enter into lab school partnerships. He has said that lab schools could be either newly established or converted out of existing schools and has supported legislation that would direct the Virginia State Board of Education to "give substantial preference" to lab school applications filed by historically black colleges or universities. Under that legislation, the same preference would be given to applications seeking to establish lab schools in "underserved communities".

Youngkin supports revising how Virginia public schools are funded, so that per pupil funding for any students attending lab schools in the state would go to the institutions operating the schools attended by those students instead of going to the public school boards for the districts where those students reside. An amendment proposed by Youngkin for the 2022 state budget would have enacted this plan but was not adopted by the General Assembly. Although the Virginia Education Association and the editorial board of The Free Lance–Star have both supported Youngkin's goal of re-establishing lab schools in Virginia, they have also both criticized Youngkin's plan for redirecting per pupil funding away from local school boards, noting that because Virginia law allows lab schools to enroll students from anywhere in the state, the plan could lead to decreased funding for certain school districts.

After winning the election, Youngkin said that he would use an executive action to withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a regional carbon cap-and-trade market. Youngkin has called the initiative a "carbon tax" and has stated that leaving the initiative would save ratepayers an average of about $50 a year. Democrats have countered that leaving the initiative would cut off a source of revenue for the state that raises hundreds of millions of dollars a year; this revenue is used for flood control and to provide low income ratepayers with energy assistance. On his first day in office, Youngkin signed an executive order calling for a reevaluation of Virginia's membership in the initiative. The Washington Post noted that because Virginia entered the initiative through legislative action, Youngkin may lack the legal authority to withdraw from the initiative without legislative approval. The publication theorized that this legal limitation may have been why Youngkin ultimately ordered a reevaluation of the initiative rather than a withdrawal. In August 2022, the Youngkin administration announced that, despite the likely legal challenges, it would attempt to withdraw Virginia from the initiative by the end of 2023 without seeking legislative approval to do so. Around that same time, Youngkin announced his desire to block a law set to take effect in 2024, which would require that Virginia follow California's vehicle emissions standards.

Under Youngkin's proposal, possessing more than two ounces of marijuana would become a Class 2 misdemeanor, while possessing more than six ounces would become a Class 1 misdemeanor. Before this proposal was made, the Democratic-controlled State Senate had passed a bill during the 2022 legislative session that would have made possessing more than four ounces of marijuana a Class 3 misdemeanor. That bill, which also would have legalized the sale of recreational marijuana in Virginia, was rejected by the Republican-controlled House of Delegates. Later that year, as part of a bipartisan budget deal signed by Youngkin, Virginia made possessing between four ounces and a pound of marijuana in public a Class 3 misdemeanor for a first time offense and a Class 2 misdemeanor for repeat offenses. This same budget deal banned the sale of cannabis products shaped as animals, humans, vehicles, or fruits, so as to protect against accidental consumption by children.

Separate marijuana legislation signed by Youngkin in 2022 allows patients to purchase medical marijuana immediately upon receiving a certificate to do so from a registered medical provider. Previously, patients were required to register with the State Board of Pharmacy before they could make such a purchase. This reform was enacted due to long wait times occurring during the registration process.

In 2022, Youngkin signed bipartisan legislation requiring that the removal of deceased voters from Virginia's electoral rolls be conducted on a weekly basis; this had previously been done on a monthly basis. That same year, Youngkin signed legislation changing how absentee ballots are reported in Virginia. Previously, these ballots had been reported as part of a single, at-large precinct. Youngkin's legislation requires that they instead be reported precinct-by-precinct.

In early 2022, Youngkin received an honorary degree from the College of William and Mary.

In January 2021, Youngkin announced that he would seek the Republican Party of Virginia's nomination for governor of Virginia. A first-time candidate, Youngkin's personal wealth gave him the ability to self-fund his candidacy, and he spent at least $5.5 million of his own money on his primary campaign. Youngkin was endorsed by Ted Cruz during the primary; Cruz has described Youngkin as a close family friend. Youngkin had previously donated to Cruz's 2018 re-election campaign.

Youngkin won the nomination at the party's state convention on May 10, 2021, after multiple rounds of ranked-choice voting at thirty-nine locations across the state. He defeated six other candidates. All the Republican candidates, including Youngkin, stressed their support for Donald Trump and Trumpism, although other candidates for the nomination, such as state senator Amanda Chase, were the most vocally pro-Trump. After winning the party's nomination, Youngkin was endorsed by Trump. He called the endorsement an "honor" but sought to distance himself from some of Trump's most ardent supporters. The New York Times wrote in October that Youngkin had sought to localize the race. Youngkin openly courted both Trump supporters and never-Trump voters.

Youngkin's Democratic opponent in the general election, Terry McAuliffe, had previously served as governor from 2014 through 2018. The Virginia constitution bars governors from serving consecutive terms, and McAuliffe sought to become the first Virginia governor to serve two terms since Mills Godwin. On July 12, 2021, Youngkin declined to face McAuliffe in the Virginia Bar Association debate, citing his objection to the moderator, Judy Woodruff, for a donation she made to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund in 2010. The VBA had held a gubernatorial debate every election year since 1985. McAuliffe and Youngkin went on to debate two times during the campaign.

On November 2, 2021, Youngkin defeated McAuliffe, 50.58%–48.64%. Before the 2021 elections, Republicans had not prevailed in a statewide race in Virginia since 2009. Youngkin's victory was attributed to a coalition of voters consisting of both Trump supporters and some suburban residents who had supported Joe Biden in 2020.

Youngkin began announcing nominations for his sixteen-member cabinet on December 20, 2021, and did not finish the process until after his inauguration. According to The Washington Post, Youngkin assembled his cabinet at a slower pace than prior Virginia governors. Commenting on this process, the publication wrote in December 2021, "The slow pace has turned the quadrennial parlor game of predicting Cabinet picks into a far more protracted and opaque process [than usual], with lobbyists, interest groups and other Richmond insiders left guessing what the new administration might look like. Youngkin’s practice of sidestepping many policy specifics during the campaign has only heightened the anticipation."

Youngkin describes himself as "pro-life" but says he supports legal access to abortion in cases of rape, incest, or protecting the mother's life. During his gubernatorial campaign, he criticized the Texas Heartbeat Act, which bans abortions around the sixth week of pregnancy except for when needed to protect the life of the mother. At that time, Youngkin stated his preference for a "pain threshold bill", which bans abortion at around twenty weeks. However, in July 2021 while running for governor, he was caught on a hot mic telling an activist that he would "start going on offense" against abortion rights if elected governor but would largely avoid the topic until then, saying "as a campaign topic, sadly, that in fact won’t win my independent votes that I have to get."

When first established by Northam, the Marcus alert system was criticized by Peters' sister, Princess Blanding, for its slow adoption process and for continuing to give law enforcement a significant role in responding to many mental health crisis situations. Her belief that the Marcus alert system needed to be improved upon led her to run as an independent candidate against Youngkin and McAuliffe in Virginia's 2021 gubernatorial election. Although Youngkin's legislation downscaling the system gained some bipartisan support in the state legislature, it was opposed by Blanding and most House Democrats.

In late August 2021, Youngkin announced a series of more modest tax cut proposals. These included eliminating the grocery tax, suspending the gas tax increase, offering a one-time rebate on income tax, doubling the standard deduction on income tax, cutting the retirement tax on veterans' income, implementing voter approval for any increase to local real estate property taxes, and offering a tax holiday for small businesses. Upon their announcement, the Associated Press called these proposals "the most wide-ranging and detailed look at the priorities of a potential Youngkin administration". Had these proposals gone on to be enacted in full, they would have amounted to $1.8 billion in one-time tax cuts and $1.4 billion in recurring tax cuts. During the campaign, Youngkin proposed paying for much of his proposed tax cuts with the state's budget surplus, which at the time, was projected to total $2.6 billion. Although The Washington Post and NPR both noted that much of that revenue would be unavailable for tax cuts, since state law required that over half of the amount be devoted to the state's "rainy day" reserve fund, water quality improvement fund, and transportation fund, Virginia's budget surplus continued to grow, and by the end of Northam's term, was projected to total at least $13.4 billion for the state's then-upcoming budget cycle.

This same executive order cancels the Virginia Mathematics Pathways Initiative, a program that had been developed and proposed by the Northam administration in an effort to both close the racial achievement gap and better equip students with modern job skills. According to The Virginian-Pilot, some critics of the program viewed it as "a dumbing down of standards". Youngkin called the program a "left-wing takeover of public education", and many conservatives claimed that it would have eliminated advanced high school math classes - a claim that Youngkin gave prominence to during his campaign. James Lane, Virginia Superintendent at the time, and NPR, both disputed this characterization of the program. The Virginia Math Pathways Initiative would have prioritized data science and data analytics over calculus while still offering students the opportunity to enroll in calculus at an accelerated pace. Although education officials within the Northam administration explored the potential benefits of detracking students prior to the 11th grade, no plans to do so were ever adopted, and in April 2021, those officials explained that the Virginia Math Pathways Initiative was not designed to eliminate advanced math classes at any grade level. Shortly after Youngkin and other conservatives first began speaking out against the Virginia Math Pathways Initiative, The Washington Post reported that the actual nature of the program had been "obscured...[by] prominent Virginians and copious coverage from right-wing news outlets" as "outrage built online" among those opposed to it.

In contrast to McAuliffe, who introduced much of his education platform concurrently with his announcement to run in the Democratic primary, Youngkin did not begin sharing proposals for state spending on education until months after securing the Republican nomination. McAuliffe criticized Youngkin for not releasing budget details until late in the campaign and argued that spending on education in Virginia could be threatened by the extent of Youngkin's tax cut proposals. The Washington Post wrote that Youngkin's education platform was "far lighter on details" than McAuliffe's and that it largely focused on cultural issues over budgetary proposals. Youngkin began offering specific proposals for education spending late in the summer of 2021, only a few months before the election. These proposals included $100 million a year for raising teacher salaries, $200 million for improvements to school infrastructure, and over $1 billion for expanding school choice programs.

A few months after his inauguration, Youngkin proposed that Virginia recriminalize possessing more than two ounces of marijuana. When the Northam administration, a year earlier, had legalized possessing up to an ounce of marijuana in Virginia, it did so while establishing a system in which possessing between one ounce and one pound was made punishable by a $25 fine; possessing over one pound remained a felony. This system made Virginia the only US state to have legalized marijuana possession without having misdemeanor penalties for possessing over the legal amount. Youngkin's proposal to introduce such penalties in Virginia was inspired by a recommendation made in 2021 by the state legislature's nonpartisan Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.

As of September 2021, Youngkin had an estimated net worth of $440 million; he contributed $20 million of his own money to his race for governor. Although he said that he would release summaries of his tax returns before the election, he did not release them until after the election and has never released his actual tax returns. The summaries have not been independently verified. As governor, he has placed some, but not all, of his financial holdings into a blind trust. The assets that he has not placed into a blind trust include stock in several companies that operate in Virginia. Youngkin has said that he will donate his entire gubernatorial salary, $175,000 a year, to charities. He donated his salary for the first quarter of 2022 to the Virginia Law Enforcement Assistance Program, an organization devoted to helping first responders who have experienced trauma, and he donated his salary for the second quarter of that year to the Virginia Veterans Services Foundation.

Bloomberg News described the co-CEO relationship as "awkward ... and increasingly acrimonious". The publication later wrote that Lee "quickly established dominance, diminishing Youngkin’s clout." This was largely due to Lee being given control of the corporate private equity and global credit units at the onset, which were bigger and more profitable than the others. In July 2020, Youngkin announced that he would retire from the Carlyle Group at the end of September 2020, after serving as co-CEO for about 30 months, stating his intention to focus on community and public service efforts. In 2020, Youngkin and his wife founded a nonprofit, Virginia Ready Initiative, focusing on connecting unemployed people in the state with job-training programs and potential employers.

According to PolitiFact, before the Republican convention, Youngkin "toed a delicate line when asked if Biden was legitimately elected. He acknowledged that Biden was president but would not clearly say whether he thought the president was fairly elected. After the convention, Youngkin began acknowledging that Biden's election was legitimate." Amanda Chase, who has advanced conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, acted as a campaign surrogate for Youngkin after losing the Republican primary to him, and the Associated Press noted that, while running for governor, Youngkin "failed to refute a conspiracy theory" about the 2020 election; when asked at one of his rallies, several months after Biden had been inaugurated, if Trump could be restored as president, Youngkin replied, "I don’t know the particulars about how that can happen because what’s happening in the court system is moving slowly and it’s unclear."

Youngkin's actions are expected to face court challenges. Although the 2020 bill signed by Northam did not specify what Virginia's model policies for the treatment of transgender students should be, it stated that the policies should "address common issues regarding transgender students in accordance with evidence-based best practices" and that the policies should protect transgender students from bullying and harassment. Several legal scholars and Democratic politicians have argued that Youngkin's model policies fail to meet this criteria, and as a result, may be in violation of Virginia law. It has been reported that Youngkin's model policies may also be in violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act, which bans schools from discriminating on the basis of gender identity, and that Youngkin's policy mandating that students use restrooms corresponding with their biological sex may be unenforceable due to the 2020 court ruling in G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board, which mandates that students in Virginia be allowed to use restrooms corresponding with their gender identity.

A major subject of opposition among Republicans during the campaign was a state law signed in 2020 by Youngkin's predecessor, Ralph Northam, requiring that all Virginia public schools adopt protections for transgender students. Youngkin has been critical of these protections. While running for governor, he supported teachers who refused to refer to their students by preferred pronouns and argued against allowing transgender girls to play on girls' sports teams. As governor, he has stated that he believes public school teachers should be required to out LGBTQ students to their parents. His administration has since announced plans to repeal all of the protections for transgender students that had been introduced under Northam.

In October 2017, the Carlyle Group announced that its founders would remain executive chairmen on the board of directors but step down as the day-to-day leaders of the firm; they named Youngkin and Kewsong Lee to succeed them, as co-CEOs, effective January 1, 2018. As co-CEOs, Youngkin oversaw Carlyle's real estate, energy, infrastructure businesses, and investment solutions businesses; Lee oversaw the firm's corporate private equity and global credit businesses. Youngkin and Lee also joined the firm's board of directors when they became co-CEOs.

Throughout the campaign, Youngkin spoke against what he characterized as the pervasive teaching of critical race theory in the state. Politifact found this characterization of his to be false, saying it found no evidence that critical race theory was part of state curriculum standards and little evidence of it being taught in classrooms. The publication wrote, "Critical race theory is being widely discussed by educators across Virginia. But there's a difference between educators learning about the theory and actually teaching it to students." Critics of Youngkin noted that he sent his own children to private schools where resources promoting critical race theory have been recommended. Youngkin served on the governing board for one of those schools from 2016 until 2019 but has distanced himself from anti-racism initiatives that were adopted by the school.

In June 2014, he became co-president and co-chief operating officer with Michael J. Cavanagh, who joined the Carlyle Group from JPMorgan Chase. Together they helped develop and implement the firm's growth initiatives and managed the firm's operations on a day-to-day basis. Cavanagh left the firm in May 2015 to become CFO of Comcast, leaving Youngkin as president and COO of Carlyle.

When Carlyle's chief financial officer Peter Nachtwey left suddenly in late 2010, Youngkin became interim CFO until Adena Friedman was hired as CFO late March 2011. In 2010, Youngkin joined the firm's management committee. Youngkin was chief operating officer of the Carlyle Group from March 2011 until June 2014.

Youngkin and his wife attended St. John's Episcopal Church in McLean but departed due to their disagreement with the denomination's support for same-sex marriage. In 2010, the couple helped found Holy Trinity Church, which met initially in their basement in McLean, Virginia. Holy Trinity describes itself as a "non-denominational church with Anglican roots and a contemporary charismatic expression." The Youngkins set up a private foundation which owns the property where the church stands and a farm in Middleburg, Virginia, that serves as a Christian retreat.

In April 2008, Carlyle's founders asked Youngkin to step back from deal-making to focus on the firm's broader strategy. In 2009, the founders created a seven-person operating committee, chaired by Youngkin, which oversaw the non-deal, day-to-day operations of Carlyle. In 2009 Youngkin also joined, along with Daniel Akerson, the firm's executive committee, which had previously consisted solely of the three founders.

As noted by The Washington Post, cabinet nominees almost always receive bipartisan support in Virginia state politics; although prior Virginia governor Bob McDonnell withdrew one of his cabinet nominees in response to Democratic opposition, only one cabinet nominee before Wheeler had ever been formally voted down by the Virginia state legislature - Daniel G. LeBlanc, an AFL–CIO chief whose nomination by Tim Kaine to serve as Secretary of the Commonwealth was rejected by Republicans in 2006. Wheeler served as acting Secretary of Natural Resources until mid-March 2022, when Youngkin appointed him as a senior advisor, a role that does not require confirmation by the legislature. In June of that year, Youngkin appointed Wheeler to direct the Office of Regulatory Management, an office newly established by Youngkin through executive order for the purpose of reducing state regulatory requirements. Just as Wheeler had done with his advisory role, he was able to assume his role at the Office of Regulatory Management without legislative approval.

In August 1995, Youngkin joined the private-equity firm The Carlyle Group, based in Washington, D.C., initially as a member of the US buyout team. In 1999, he was named a partner and managing director of Carlyle. He managed the firm's United Kingdom buyout team (2000–2005) and global industrial sector investment team (2005–2008), dividing his time between London and Washington.

In 1994, after receiving his MBA, he joined the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

Youngkin attended Rice University in Houston, Texas, on a basketball scholarship. He played four seasons for the Owls in the Southwest Conference, and he totaled 82 points and 67 rebounds in his career. In 1990, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in managerial studies and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. He attended Harvard Business School and earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in 1994.

After graduating from Rice in 1990, Youngkin joined the investment bank First Boston, where he worked on mergers and acquisitions and capital market financing. The company was bought out by Credit Suisse and became Credit Suisse First Boston; Youngkin left in 1992 to pursue an MBA.

To serve as his chief of staff, Youngkin chose Jeff Goettman, who served as a Treasury Department official in the Trump Administration before becoming the chief operating officer of Youngkin's campaign. Youngkin and Goettman share a professional background in private equity. Kay Coles James, who was the first Black woman to serve as president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, joined Youngkin's administration as Secretary of the Commonwealth. For the role of counselor, a cabinet-level position, Youngkin chose Richard Cullen, an attorney described by The Washington Post as "the ultimate Richmond insider". Cullen had been chairman of McGuireWoods, and in the 1990s, served out the remainder of Jim Gilmore's term as Attorney General of Virginia, after Gilmore resigned to run for governor. The Washington Post reported that Cullen's appointment was "widely seen as a nod to the establishment class" and theorized that the choice "could suggest that Youngkin does not intend to thoroughly disrupt 'politics as usual' in a state where cozy ties between government and business interests have long been lauded - and derided - as 'the Virginia way.'" The publication further wrote, "At the very least, the choice indicates that Youngkin wants an experienced political hand on his team as he tries to get his arms around the state’s sprawling bureaucracy."

Glenn Allen Youngkin (born December 9, 1966) is an American businessman and politician, currently serving as the 74th governor of Virginia since January 15, 2022. A member of the Republican Party, Youngkin defeated former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election. Prior to entering politics, he spent 25 years at the private-equity firm the Carlyle Group, where he became co–CEO in 2018. He resigned from that position in 2020 to run for governor.

Glenn Allen Youngkin was born in Richmond, Virginia, on December 9, 1966. He is the son of Ellis (née Quinn) and Carroll Wayne Youngkin. His father played basketball for Duke University and worked in accounting and finance and his mother was a nurse. When Youngkin was a teenager, the family moved from Richmond to Virginia Beach. He attended the private Norfolk Academy in Norfolk, Virginia, graduating in 1985. He received numerous high school basketball honors.