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On January 17, 2026, Abigail Spanberger took the oath as Virginia’s governor and celebrated the moment as a triumph of “progress” — but voters who backed her because she sounded moderate are already waking up to something much darker. On day one she signed a slate of executive orders, ten in all, and set a tone that looks less like common-sense governance and more like a rapid leftward lurch. For hardworking Virginians who sweat for every paycheck, that lurch is not abstract: it means new regulations, new priorities, and a new willingness to reshape everyday life in the name of ideology.
One of her first acts was to rescind the Youngkin directive that encouraged state and local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, ending the state mandate to pursue 287(g) agreements going forward. Spanberger’s move will be celebrated by open-border advocates, but it raises real questions about public safety and the burden on local police who already struggle with limited resources. And let’s be clear: rescinding the directive is a political signal even if it doesn’t instantly terminate every existing agreement — the message to criminal networks and to bureaucrats is unmistakable.
Spanberger also announced that Virginia will rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, claiming it will return money for energy-efficiency programs and flood mitigation. That spin is familiar: send more Washington-style schemes into state government and somebody will find a way to tax your energy use and your commute. Conservatives should not forget that every so-called environmental “investment” is paid for by families and businesses, and when the state starts tinkering with energy markets your monthly bills and take-home pay are the first things that feel the squeeze.
She’s pitching “affordability” while telling voters to trust the government to fix housing, healthcare, and energy costs — but the proposed fixes coming out of Richmond look a lot more like top-down control than relief. One example: an executive push to extend eviction response windows from five days to two weeks, framed as renter protection, will be marketed as a win for families who need “just enough time” to get a paycheck in. In practice, policies that tilt protection to one side of the landlord-tenant ledger reward bad actors, penalize small landlords, and make it harder for landlords to keep properties affordable for everyone.
Meanwhile, the new Democratic trifecta in Richmond is moving fast to write the rules that will govern Virginians for years. Bills already on the docket range from local bans or heavy regulation of gas-powered leaf blowers to other ordinances that micromanage daily life under the guise of public health or climate policy. These aren’t minor quality-of-life debates; they are the first threads of a bigger fabric of regulation that will strangle small businesses, raise costs for homeowners, and reward well-connected insiders who know how to squeeze subsidies out of state coffers.
Redistricting plans and promises to reshape congressional maps add another layer of concern: when one party controls the governor’s office and both legislative chambers, the temptation to rig the rules grows. Spanberger’s allies openly discuss redrawing districts before the next federal contests, and voters who prize fair elections should be alarmed. Democracy dies not in a single headline but in the steady accumulation of one-party rule, administrative power grabs, and the erosion of checks and balances that protect your liberty and your paycheck.
This moment demands clarity from conservatives: don’t be fooled by rhetoric about “unity” and “moderation” when the first actions are partisan power plays that change who pays and who benefits. Call your legislators, support candidates who believe in limited government and strong local institutions, and hold the line on policies that muzzle free enterprise. Virginians work hard for every dollar; defending that paycheck means defending a system where government serves citizens, not the other way around.
If Spanberger’s first week is any indication, the left’s playbook in Richmond will be to move quickly, incrementally, and under a pleasant slogan. Patriots who love Virginia should respond with the same urgency: organize, speak up at hearings, and mobilize at the ballot box. The fight for affordable energy, secure communities, and fair elections is not abstract politics — it’s about preserving the ability of families to keep what they earn and to pass on opportunity to the next generation.
