Youngkin slams Spanberger’s request to pause U.Va. president search

Thomas Robertson | trobertson@wtop.com
November 14, 2025, 6:16 PM

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin responded directly to Abigail Spanberger in a letter, calling her request to pause the University of Virginia’s search for a president “meritless,” precipitous and possibly damaging to the university. ... The Republican governor wrote that when he spoke with Spanberger, Virginia’s Democratic governor-elect, earlier in the week, she had briefly mentioned sending a letter about the school, “but moved to a different topic so quickly that it seemed unimportant at the time.”

Spanberger sent a letter to the university’s Board of Visitors on Wednesday, asking it to pause its search for a new president until she was sworn in and could appoint new board members. ... In his response to Spanberger, Youngkin wrote that “by acting precipitously, you may have inflicted significant damage on the university you profess to love.”

Former university President Jim Ryan resigned during the summer over pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration and conservative critics over the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices. ... Spanberger said federal overreach that led to Ryan’s departure went unchallenged by the University of Virginia board.

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Thomas Robertson
Thomas Robertson is an Associate Producer and Web Writer/Editor at WTOP. After graduating in 2019 from James Madison University, Thomas moved away from Virginia for the first time in his life to cover the local government beat for a small daily newspaper in Zanesville, Ohio.
trobertson@wtop.com