Critics are accusing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin of totally circumventing checks on his executive powers as he rolls back environmental legislation.

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 He’s also withdrawn the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an economic incentive program designed to encourage a move to clean energy.

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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 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?” 

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.

This makes it especially disheartening to see individuals like Youngkin actively work to reverse the positive efforts of more forward-thinking politicians.

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.”

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.”

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.

“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.

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.”

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.”

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.

Other Virginian Democrats have said Youngkin is resistant to accepting the checks and balances that come with his office.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.