Mechanisms are in place within the American political system to prevent individuals from unilaterally exercising their power to the potential detriment of others. Or, that’s how it’s supposed to work.
Critics are accusing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin of totally circumventing checks on his executive powers as he rolls back environmental legislation.
Youngkin’s Power Grab
The Republican governor has been advancing elements of his party’s conservative agenda regarding environmental policy.
This apparent power grab from Youngkin includes rolling back standards regarding auto pollution aimed at having cleaner cars on the road. He’s also withdrawn the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an economic incentive program designed to encourage a move to clean energy.
What Virginians Need
It took 25 years for Democrats to win over enough power to pass climate policy into state law. This makes Youngkin’s decision to roll back green legislation particularly painful.
The Virginia governor announced the end of the state’s clean car standards at a dealership in Richmond. Thanking Republican lawmakers who had previously tried to block environmental vehicle regulations, Youngkin said Virginians need “to accelerate.”
Acting Against Statutes
Youngkin’s withdrawal of Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative flies in the face of a 2020 statute that required the state’s involvement in this incentivized clean energy program.
As a further slap in the face to clean energy advocates, Youngkin has also appointed former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler, who has previously worked under former President Trump, to a new authoritative office that was created specifically for him.
How Is Youngkin Doing This?
The Republican Party was soundly defeated in the State senate elections and the General Assembly, so it’s concerning that the Republican governor is still able to push so much of his party’s agenda seemingly unilaterally.
He is doing so by essentially exploiting a series of legislative loopholes. Thanks to vague wording in some of the climate legislation that’s open to interpretation, it’s almost impossible to prevent some of the reversals Youngkin is enacting.
Republican Hypocrisy
It’s hard not to see the hypocrisy of a Republican pushing their own agenda in spite of legal restrictions when they constantly crow about the Democrats supposedly abusing power in the same way.
As Virginia House Speaker Don Scott put it: “[Youngkin] has chosen to ignore the law, break the law and do the things that they accuse Democrats of doing.”
Extremely Troubling for Virginia
This is a troubling situation for the state of Virginia, whose voter base has consistently elected pro-climate Democrats over non-renewable energy advocate Republicans like Youngkin and his ilk.
This power grab from the governor’s office is therefore an alarming one for the state. And the moves by Youngkin will have a lasting impact on the state and its citizens.
Lasting Harmful Effects
Even if the next governor or the state courts throw out Youngkin’s decisions and try to reverse the moves he’s made, the damage is done.
Many of his actions will likely have lasting, harmful effects on the health of Virginia’s citizens. He’s also seemingly locking in non-renewable energy sources like gas-burning peaker plants that will persist even after Youngkin has left the governor’s mansion.
A Troubling Precedent
Beyond the environmental impact of the moves made by Youngkin, this entire situation raises serious questions regarding the separation of powers and executive overreach.
A governor should not logistically be able to act in a way that totally ignores the law. Speaking on the situation, Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Trip Pollar said: “Unfortunately, these actions call into question: Can the governor really essentially try to violate the separation of powers and just ignore or try to unilaterally undo any law he doesn’t like?”
The Climate Crisis
The impact of a changing global climate is already being felt in the U.S. as more and more extreme weather events are impacting communities.
Washington, D.C. recently experienced an intense heatwave where temperatures reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and extreme flooding caused the Rapidan Dam to partially fail, resulting in a family home being completely washed away.
We Need Steps Forward, Not Steps Backward
There are many who feel we stand at a pivotal point with regard to the climate crisis. We are reaching a point of no return where if changes aren’t made, the damage to our planet will be irreversible.
This makes it especially disheartening to see individuals like Youngkin actively work to reverse the positive efforts of more forward-thinking politicians.
For Virginians
One of Youngkin’s arguments for backtracking on environmental legislation is that climate policy imposes itself on Virginians’ freedoms.
In the past, Youngkin has criticized the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and Virginia’s adoption of California’s clean car standards. Referring to the rollback on auto standards, Youngkin said: “I don’t think it’s that crazy that the rules and laws Virginians live by should in fact be enacted by Virginians.”
Other Unpopular Policies
This is not the first time Governor Youngkin has stood in the way of sound environmental policy.
He recently faced backlash for vetoing a bill that would have permanently banned the sale of English ivy. The plant is an invasive species that wreaks havoc on native ecosystems by suffocating other plants in the ground. Democrat delegate Paul Krizek, said: “This is super disappointing.”
Dodging Cleaner Cars
There are more fights that Youngkin has picked over the standard of cars on Virginian roads.
Last year, Youngkin removed Virginia from consideration for a Ford electric vehicle battery plant. The governor cited links to China as the reason why he did not want the plant to be built in his state. Youngkin referred to the Chinese battery manufacturer, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., that would have operated the facility alongside Ford.
‘An Easy One’
Youngkin defended his decision to pull Virginia out of consideration for the Ford battery plant for its links to China.
“This is an easy one where Virginia taxpayer money along with federal taxpayer money wasn’t going to go to the benefit of a CCP-influenced company and a workaround arrangement for what federal law is,” Youngkin said on Fox News.
A Front for China
Youngkin believed that Ford was essentially functioning as a puppet for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) is not a state-owned company. Regardless, Youngkin told Bloomberg TV: “The structure was CATL and the CCP would have full operational control over the technology. I would have loved to have had Ford come to Virginia and build a battery plant if they were not using it as a front for a company that is controlled by the CCP.”
Democrats Were Not Pleased
Democrats have accused Youngkin of putting political kudos over job creation.
Majority House Speaker, Scott Surovell, said: “The only explanation that I can see for that is that the governor is in some kind of a China-bashing contest with Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott. The governor chose to make a splash and, on his own, disrespected the people of Southside Virginia by not letting them know that he was going to turn down 2,500 and a $5 billion investment in a region that has been suffering.”
Backlash Felt
Youngkin’s actions are not being taken lying down. Many are responding immediately to try to undo some of the damage he has done.
Several environmental groups are pursuing lawsuits against Youngkin’s administration. Even though his tenure as governor is term-limited and he cannot run for re-election, Democratic leaders are already mobilizing to have him replaced to undo these environmentally shortsighted policy changes.
Democrats’ Response
Del. Rip Sullivan authored some of Virginia’s most impactful climate laws. In response to Youngkin’s rollbacks, Sullivan said there is little lawmakers can do to claw back climate legislation “short of writing in the legislation, ‘Dear future governor, thou shalt not change this.'”
Other Virginian Democrats have said Youngkin is resistant to accepting the checks and balances that come with his office.
Abuse of Power
The appointment of Andrew Wheeler to be the head of the Department of Natural Resources shows that Youngkin is willing to push the limits of his power.
Surovell said this decision was “obviously the first sign” of Youngkin’s stance on climate legislation. Since then, Republicans have spent the subsequent months expanding their control over the regulatory boards that oversee climate policy.
Following the Money
Some critics of Youngkin have said that his aggressive campaign against climate legislation reflects Youngkin’s desire for higher office.
However, Tim Cywinski, communications director for the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club, said the target audience of Youngkin’s actions is Republican donors. Cywinski said: “Gov. Youngkin is not going to be able to campaign for Senate because he struck down RGGI. Because nobody knows what that is. But it does help him get more funders for a national run.”
Distancing From California Policy
Youngkin was able to roll back auto standards by noting that the legislation said Virginia “may” adopt California’s standards.
This way, the governor argued that there was enough discretion left in the legislation for Virginia to ditch the new regulations altogether. Youngkin said: “We are going to end the California mandate.” Republican senator Ryan McDougle said: “Our laws should be decided by Virginia, not a state nearly 3,000 miles away.”
A Very Troubling Step Backward
The moves taken by a Republican governor seemingly for the benefit of his party and certain lobbyists, and to the detriment of state citizens and the environment as a whole, are obviously troubling in their own right.
But the way Youngkin has gone about this creates further cause for concern. He has essentially shown that a state governor can exercise his power in such a way that totally circumvents political checks and balances. It will be interesting to see if others follow the Youngkin model to push their own agendas.
Lessons Not Learned
Youngkin and his Republican supporters have aggressively undone environmental legislation. However, Democrat leaders say Youngkin has not learned from the lessons of his election loss last year.
Don Scott, the House speaker, said Youngkin has doubled down on an “overreaching and authoritarian” governing style. “We thought we taught him a lesson that he needed to reverse course in November. But he’s stubborn. So I guess we’ll have to teach him again … with another ass-whooping at the ballot box,” Scott said.
