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Fairfax County’s Democratic leaders are urging Gov. Glenn Youngkin to fight potential relocations of federal agencies away from Northern Virginia, warning that the region’s economic health—and Virginia’s—could be at risk.
The Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 along party lines Tuesday, March 4, to send Youngkin a letter asking him to oppose efforts to move federal facilities to less expensive parts of the country. Board members also offered to meet with the governor “anytime and anywhere” to seek common ground.
The Trump administration recently gave federal department and agency leaders until April 14 to propose relocating facilities outside the Washington, D.C., region.
President Donald Trump also signed a Feb. 26 executive order directing agencies to identify property leases that could be terminated. The General Services Administration has 60 days to develop a plan for disposing of property deemed no longer necessary.
“Stand up and fight. Protect your people … protect your Virginia economy,” Board Chairman Jeff McKay said in remarks aimed at Youngkin.
“This is a fork-in-the-road opportunity: which way do you want to go?” McKay said. “The time to act is now.”
Democratic supervisors acknowledged that the new letter, following another sent several weeks earlier, might have little effect. Still, they said the county must take tangible action.
“We’ve got to do what we can,” Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk said. “There are real lives that are being impacted by the decisions that are being made.”
Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw, who chairs the board’s legislative committee, said Trump may disregard Fairfax County’s concerns but could be more receptive to Youngkin. The governor met with Trump and appeared at events supporting his presidential campaign last year.
“His voice matters in this moment,” Walkinshaw said.
Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said the county needs Youngkin’s leadership, whether it is exercised publicly or privately.
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, the board’s only Republican, opposed the letter and called it “political grandstanding.” He argued that Youngkin is already working to reduce the effects of federal downsizing and suggested McKay call the governor directly if he wants to invite him to Fairfax.
Herrity, who is seeking the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, supports reducing the size of the federal government but said he recognizes the consequences for local families.
“I get the impact,” Herrity said. “I’ve got neighbors who are losing jobs, I’ve got family members who are losing jobs.”
McKay credited the Youngkin administration for helping people who have lost federal jobs but said the governor should also work to prevent jobs from disappearing or leaving the region.
“There’s nothing politically grandstanding about asking our governor to stand up for his constituents,” McKay said.
He argued that even if Youngkin is reluctant to assist Democratic-leaning Northern Virginia, the governor should consider the broader statewide consequences.
“Virginia’s economy is doomed if Fairfax County is financially suffering. That’s just pure economics,” McKay said.
Northern Virginia is home to about 175,000 federal employees, including 80,000 who live in Fairfax County. Thousands of other residents work for federal contractors whose businesses rely on being close to Washington.
The supervisors are scheduled to receive a briefing on the potential local effects of federal downsizing during an Economic Initiative Committee meeting Tuesday, March 11.
“We’ll continue to drill down,” said Storck, the committee’s chairman.