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Glenn Youngkin waves to the crowd at his inauguration on Saturday Jan. 15, in Richmond, Va. Scott Elmquist/VPM hide caption

Glenn Youngkin waves to the crowd at his inauguration on Saturday Jan. 15, in Richmond, Va.

Businessman Glenn Youngkin was sworn in as the 74th governor of Virginia on Saturday in Richmond, the first Republican to hold the office in nearly a decade.

"No matter who you voted for, I pledge to be your advocate, your voice, your governor," Youngkin said in his inaugural speech, offering a message of unity that, at times, was absent from the campaign. "Our politics have become too toxic. Soundbites have replaced solutions taking precedence over good faith problem-solving."

But during his speech, the crowd was loudest, and many stood on their feet, when Youngkin spoke about "removing politics from the classroom." On the campaign trail, he frequently talked about parents' rights to say what is taught in school.

Two history-making Republicans also took the oath of office. Former state Delegate Jason Miyares was sworn in as attorney general, the first Latino elected to statewide office. And former state Delegate Winsome Sears is now lieutenant governor, the first Black woman to hold that title.

Youngkin began leaving his mark shortly after the inauguration when he signed several executive orders. His first executive order bans what he calls "divisive concepts" including critical race theory from teacher diversity trainings, as well as "all guidelines, websites, best practices, and other materials" produced by Virginia's Department of Education, and orders a review of school curriculum for CRT-related content. Youngkin campaigned heavily on the notion that school equity programs designed to address systemic racism had gone too far. Critics noted CRT does not appear in Virginia's K-12 curricula and accused Youngkin of stoking racial resentment.

Another order attempts to fast-track Virginia's removal from a regional carbon cap-and-trade program. Youngkin also ordered an end to a mask mandate for public schools and scrapped a vaccine or weekly testing mandate for state employees put in place by outgoing Gov. Ralph Northam. Several school districts, including Arlington and Richmond, said they would keep their mask mandates in place.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, says some of the policies were likely to be met with legal challenges.

"I think he's pushing the envelope," Tobias says. "And I think the General Assembly will be unhappy with some of it, too."

Youngkin's victory in November shocked Democrats who after President Biden's 10-point margin in the state were hoping former Gov. Terry McAuliffe would be able to return to the governor's mansion and continue the party's grip on an office.

But Youngkin's campaign turned out many voters in rural Virginia and made inroads in suburban areas of the state. The former private equity CEO framed his lack of political experience as an asset.

In addition to seizing control of all three statewide offices, Republicans also hold a 52-48 majority in the House of Delegates after flipping seven seats in the 100-member chamber. During their brief time in the majority, Democrats raised the minimum wage, abolished the death penalty, expanded access to voting and legalized marijuana.

Republicans are hoping to work with the new governor to roll back some of the more progressive elements of those new laws. But they'll have to cajole or compromise with Democrats in the state Senate, where Democrats still hold a 21-19 edge, with broader margins on key committees.

Republican Winsome Sears waves to supporters just before taking the oath of office for lieutenant governor in Richmond on Saturday. Scott Elmquist/VPM hide caption

Republican Winsome Sears waves to supporters just before taking the oath of office for lieutenant governor in Richmond on Saturday.

Youngkin will also have to face an issue that he didn't talk about on the campaign trail: figuring out how Virginia's new marijuana industry will work. Democrats legalized marijuana in small amounts, but the system for retail sales still hasn't been established.

Youngkin's cabinet includes a mix of political newcomers as well as veterans of state and federal government, including staffers who worked under former President Donald Trump. That includes natural resources secretary nominee Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist and administrator of Trump's Environmental Protection Agency who rolled back protections passed by former President Barack Obama.

Wheeler's nomination sparked immediate outcry among Senate Democrats in Virginia, who are hoping to block his nomination. The fight over Wheeler's nomination could be an early test of Youngkin's ability to work his way through delicate political situations. Youngkin has so far ignored those protests, calling Wheeler "incredibly qualified" in an interview with member station VPM on Tuesday.

Northam, the outgoing Democrat, has said he's unlikely to run for office again. He faced widespread calls to resign in February 2019 after reporters surfaced a racist photo on his medical school yearbook page. Northam ultimately denied he was in the photo, stood down those calls and went on to sign sweeping policy changes pushed by Democratic majorities. The pediatric neurologist is set to resume seeing patients on Monday.

Ben Paviour covers state politics for member station VPM; Michael Pope works as a reporter for Virginia Public Radio.

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Republican Glenn Youngkin is sworn in as the governor of Virginia - NPR

Rep. David ValadaoDavid Goncalves ValadaoEach state's population center, visualized Jarring GOP divisions come back into spotlight Trump allies target Katko over infrastructure vote MORE (R-Calif.), one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President TrumpDonald TrumpMcCarthy says he won't cooperate with 'illegitimate' Jan. 6 probe McEnany sits down with Jan. 6 investigators Hillicon Valley YouTube takes some heat MORE last year, announced on Wednesday that he would be running in California's newly drawn 22nd congressional district.

Ill continue to be an independent member of Congress who will stand up to the divisive partisanship in Washington D.C., get things done to grow our local economy, and deliver more water for our farmers and communities, Valadao said in a statement. Im excited to earn the vote of old friends as well as new voters across Kern, Kings, and Tulare Counties.

Valadao currently represents the 21st congressional district in California, which includes Kings County in addition to parts of Kern, Fresno and Tulare Counties.

The former president was impeached in the House last year for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Trump was eventually acquitted in the Senate.

Several House Republicans, including Reps. Adam KinzingerAdam Daniel KinzingerMcCarthy says he won't cooperate with 'illegitimate' Jan. 6 probe On The Trail: Retirements offer window into House Democratic mood House GOP members introduce legislation targeting Russia over Ukraine MORE (R-Ill.) and Anthony GonzalezAnthony GonzalezOn The Trail: Retirements offer window into House Democratic mood Lessons learned from 1990s internet commerce regulation: First, do no harm GOP's Rice says he regrets Jan. 6 vote against Biden's election MORE (R-Ohio), who voted to impeach Trump announced last year that they would not be seeking re-election, indicating there is less room within the Republican Party for those who spoke out against the former president to continue their political careers.

However, the situation is different in the Senate. Sen. Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann MurkowskiNYT columnist floats Biden-Cheney ticket in 2024 Schumer, McConnell clash over filibuster amid voting rights push Trump rips GOP senator who called 2020 election 'fair' MORE (R-Alaska) one of seven senators to vote to impeach Trump announced she would be running for re-election last November.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the chairman of the Senate GOP campaign arm, said in November he would help her reelection efforts despite the fact that Trump already endorsed her GOP primary challenger.

You had said you're going to support all incumbents. And I'm just curious, does that include Lisa Murkowski, where the former president has endorsed a primary challenger? And when you say you support, does that mean you will financially support Lisa Murkowski and actually help run a campaign against a primary opponent? Meet the Press hostChuck ToddCharles (Chuck) David ToddFormer Biden adviser says US won't get more than 70 percent vaccinated 'without a mandate' Raskin: Grisham told Jan. 6 panel about 'names that I had not heard before' Lightfoot calls Chicago Teachers Union walkout 'illegal' MORE asked Scott last November.

Absolutely. ... We support all of our incumbents, Scott answered. And fortunately for us, we've got great candidates running in our primaries. And fortunately for us, we've got Bernie SandersBernie SandersOvernight Health Care CDC won't change mask recommendation Briahna Joy Gray: Voting rights advocates 'frustrated' with Biden The Memo: Biden's overpromising problem MORE candidates on the other side in many primaries, and so we're going to be in a great position in 22.

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Republican rep who voted to impeach Trump running for reelection | TheHill - The Hill

After President Joe Biden delivered a speech imploring the Senate to pass a voting-rights bill, an angry Mitt Romney took to the Senate floor to denounce him. Biden accused a number of my good and principled colleagues in the Senate of having sinister, even racist inclinations, he complained. (Imagine! Racists! In the Republican Party! In this day and age!)

But more troubling, Romney continued, was Bidens description of Republican voting restrictions as part of a scheme to turn the will of the voters into a mere suggestion. Here Romney unsheathed his sharpest insult, comparing Biden to Donald Trump: And so, President Biden goes down the same tragic road taken by President Trump casting doubt on the reliability of American elections.

Romney speaks for an important faction of Republican elites who may abhor Trumps naked authoritarianism (either openly, like Romney, or more often in private) but also believe fervently in their partys policy of voter suppression. Romneys position holds the pivotal point in the U.S. Senate: Anti-Trump, pro-voter-suppression Republicans like him are the key impediment to passing any voting-rights bills.

The Trump strain and the Romney strain have crucial differences. Trump is willing to support almost any measure, legal or extralegal, in order to maintain power. Romney abhors violence and venerates rule-following but shares Trumps belief that the franchise is more privilege than a right, and supports his partys blizzard of voting impediments to keep the Democratic hordes at bay.

Romneys allies in the Republican partys non-insurrectionary wing see their stance as the antithesis of Trumpism. What they seem unable to grasp is the degree to which his crude and even violent brand of authoritarianism is a product of their refined elitist version.

Traditional Republicans generally subscribe to some or all of the following three propositions:

First, Democrats habitually engage in wide-scale, undetected vote fraud, especially in large cities. (A leading congressional Republican once confided at an off-the-record event that he doubted the legitimacy of Bill Clintons 1996 election, which Clinton won by 8.5 percent of the vote, owing to presumptive vote-padding.)

Second, even if the votes are technically legal, the geographically concentrated nature of Democratic voting reduces its legitimacy. This is a belief expressed by the ubiquitous conflation of maps showing red occupying most land space with Republican majorities. This belief is the only way to make sense of otherwise bizarre comments, like Robin Vos,the Republican Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, casually asserting, If you took Madison and Milwaukee out of the state-election formula, we would have a clear majority.

And third, elections would be better if the electorate was refined by winnowing out uninformed or unmotivated voters. Conservative pundits proudly and openly write lines like this, from National Review in 2016: We must weed out ignorant Americans from the electorate. And Republicans occasionally blurt out comments like this, by the Republican chair of Arizonas Government and Elections Committee: Everybody shouldnt be voting Not everybody wants to vote, and if somebody is uninterested in voting, that probably means that theyre totally uninformed on the issues. Quantity is important, but we have to look at the quality of votes, as well.

These convictions inspire voting restrictions that bring together pro-Trump and Trump-skeptical Republicans alike. Republicans, with little to no intraparty dissent, have passed laws to winnow the electorate of voters who are either illegal or, in Republican eyes, undeserving. These measures include reducing the hours of voting or the locations where votes can be cast, requiring voters to jump through bureaucratic hoops (separate registration and acquiring papers or identification, often at different buildings open only during working hours), or even (in Florida) to pay back fines in order to vote.

One indication of the depth of Republican unanimity on voting restriction is their complete unwillingness to entertain any protections against abusive voter suppression. In November, Senator Joe Manchin proposed a compromise voting-rights bill. His plan would have allowed voter identification requirements, but required states to allow an array of legitimate acceptable identification, including utility bills. (States like Texas recognize gun permits, but not student identification, as legitimate ID.) It would combine automatic vote registration with measures to clean up voting rolls, make Election Day a national holiday, let volunteers provide water and snacks to voters waiting in long lines, accept provisional ballots from registered voters who appear at the wrong precinct, and other modest proposals to make voting less burdensome.

The only Senate Republican to show any interest in Manchins compromise is barely-a-Republican Lisa Murkowski. The rest of the caucus has taken the view that restricting the electorate as it sees fit is a matter of states rights.

It is important to understand that many Republican advocates of voter suppression hold Trump in at least equal contempt as advocates of voting rights. Georgia governor Brian Kemp may represent the archetype of the anti-Trump vote suppressor. In 2018, while simultaneously running for his office and serving in a job overseeing elections as secretary of State, Kemp closed 200 polling locations, primarily in minority neighborhoods, and purged hundreds of thousands of people from the voting rolls, many of the victims merely for failing to cast a vote in the previous election.

Its impossible to tell whether these restrictions played a decisive role in his narrow win. (Precisely how many people were deterred from voting, and how many of them would have voted for his opponent, is a matter of conjecture.) But Kemp was perfectly clear beforehand that he saw minority turnout as a primary threat to his success, telling supporters, You know the Democrats are working hard, and all these stories about them, you know, registering all these minority voters that are out there and others that are sitting on the sidelines, if they can do that, they can win these elections in November.

Yet Kemp also bravely defied Trumps efforts to undo the 2020 election results in the state, making himself a target of a Trump-backed primary that threatens to end his career. Its important to understand that many advocates of these laws hold Trump and liberal supporters of voting rights in at least equal contempt. From their standpoint, they occupy the midpoint between two equally noxious populist threats: to their left, Democrats who would open the floodgates to illegal or unqualified voters and delegitimize any outcome those restrictions produced, and to their right, Trump supporters who push to overturn elections Democrats win in spite of Republican-designed voting restrictions.

None of these Republicans seem to have contemplated how their assumptions about Democratic perfidy directly inspired Trumps response. Trumps most powerful appeal to the Republican base has always been to cast the partys leadership as weak losers who passively accept defeat.

If Its Not Close, They Cant Cheat is the title of a book by conservative talk-show host Hugh Hewitt. The book is not dedicated to uncovering Democratic vote fraud it provides barely a wisp of evidence for any but, rather, assumes its pervasive existence as a starting point. Hewitt reasoned that, since Republicans cant stop Democrats from cheating at the polls, their best recourse is to win elections by overwhelming margins. That book came out in 2004, before Republicans responded to Barack Obamas election by emphasizing vote-suppression measures. Two years later, he wrote a book making the case for Romney as the partys presidential nominee.

Trumpism offers a more intuitive response to the assumptions Republicans like Hewitt have long held. If it is true that Democrats always cheat, why should Republicans have to win by huge margins every time? Why not fight fire with fire?

The approach to elections of a Romney or a Kemp is not as dangerous as Trumps, not by a long shot. It is, at least, peaceful and stable, lacking the reckless Trump lurch into total systemic collapse virtues we cannot take for granted. But it also falls far short of the democratic ideal Americans have taught themselves as a shared creed. You might even call it sinister.

Analysis and commentary on the latest political news from New York columnist Jonathan Chait.

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Republican Voting-Rights Opponents May Be Better Than Trumpists, But Theyre Not Good - New York Magazine

Rep. Warren DavidsonWarren Earl DavidsonTrump war with GOP seeps into midterms House Freedom Caucus elects Rep. Scott Perry as new chairman Congress needs to step up on crypto, or Biden might crush it MORE (R-Ohio)sparked criticismfor comparing Washington,D.C.'s vaccine mandate and COVID-19 requirements to Nazi Germany.

"This has been done before. #DoNotComply," Davidson tweeted along with an image of a Nazi-era identifying document that depicted a swastika.

Lets recall that the Nazis dehumanized Jewish people before segregating them, segregated them before imprisoning them, imprisoned them before enslaving them, and enslaved them before massacring them, Davidson said.

He also posted a photo of a column from the Los Angeles Times about mocking those who are anti-vaccine and said, Dehumanizing and segregation are underway and wrong.

Davidson'sposts, which were first reported by The Washington Post, were in response to another tweet from D.C. Mayor Muriel BowserMuriel BowserThe Hill's Morning Report - Biden champions filibuster reform, but doesn't have the votes Conservatives push for boycott of GOP club over DC vaccine mandate State of emergency declared in Virginia after record COVID-19 surge MORE (D) reminding residents about COVID-19 requirements including proof of vaccination for ages 12 and up, proof of vaccination and a photo ID for ages 18 and up as well as masks in order to enter certain indoor venues.

His remarkswere met with criticism from the American Jewish Committee.

"In what is becoming a disturbing trend, @WarrenDavidson is the latest elected official to exploit the Holocaust by making immoral and offensive comparisons between vaccine mandates and this dark period of history," the group said in a tweet. "Congressman, you must remove this shameful post and apologize."

The Hill has reached out to Davidson for comment.

The Ohio lawmakeris not the first member of the GOPto compare the pandemic to the genocide of millions of Jewish people during the Holocaust.

Last year, Rep. Marjorie Taylor GreeneMarjorie Taylor GreeneGOP efforts to downplay danger of Capitol riot increase The Memo: What now for anti-Trump Republicans? Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she's meeting with Trump 'soon' in Florida MORE (R-Ga.) compared mask mandatesto the Nazi requirement that Jews to wear the Star of David.

Greene later visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and apologized for those comments,though she maintained her stance that mask requirements were discriminatory.

I believe that forced masks and forced vaccines or vaccine passports are types of discrimination. And I'm very much against that type of discrimination. What I would like to say is I'm removing that statement completely away from what I had said before, Greene said at the time.

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Ohio Republican sparks condemnation for comparing DC vaccine mandate to Nazi Germany | TheHill - The Hill

The Republican who memorably resisted Donald Trumps attempt to overturn his election defeat in Georgia has said he will run for re-election on a platform of integrity and truth, against an opponent who as a churchman should know better than to advance the former presidents lies.

Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state, became a household name after he turned down Trumps demand that he find 11,780 votes in order to overturn Joe Bidens win in the southern state. It was the first victory by a Democrat in a presidential race in Georgia since 1992.

The call is among subjects of an investigation by the district attorney of Fulton county into whether Trump and others committed crimes in their push to overturn election results in the state.

On Monday, Fani Willis told the Associated Press she expected to make a decision in the case in the first half of this year.

Were going to just get the facts, get the law, be very methodical, very patient and, in some extent, unemotional about this quest for justice, she said.

In this years elections, Raffensperger will face off against Jody Hice, a pastor, US congressman and Trump acolyte.

Congressman Hice, hes been in Congress for several years, Raffensperger said on Sunday, on CBSs Face the Nation. Hes never done a single piece of election reform legislation.

Then he certified his own race with those same machines, the same ballots [that were used for the presidential election]. And yet for President Trump, he said you couldnt trust that.

Thats a double-minded person. And as a pastor, he should know better. So, Im going to run on integrity and Im going to run on the truth. I dont know what hes going to run on.

Hice played a key role in legal and political attempts to overturn the 2020 election result.

Writing for the Guardian to mark the anniversary of the 6 January Capitol attack, in which Trump supporters failed to stop Congress certifying the election result, the former Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal said that as the riot unfolded, Hice raced by a Democratic colleague, who told me Hice was screaming into his phone: You screwed it up, yall screwed it all up!

Hice, Blumenthal wrote, was tasked to present a challenge to Georgias electors as part of the far-rightwing Republican faction, the Freedom Caucus, directed by Congressman Jim Jordan, of Ohio, who was in constant touch that day with Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff and former Freedom Caucus member, and a watchful Trump himself.

Just as the violent insurrection launched, and paramilitary groups spearheaded medieval style hand-to-hand combat against the police and burst into the Capitol, Hice posted on Instagram a photo of himself headed into the House chamber with the caption, This is our 1776 moment.

Hice deleted that post and said he condemned the violence at the Capitol.

In an email to the Guardian, a spokeswoman for Hice said the congressman denied any phone calls on 6 January remotely similar to what Mr Blumenthal describes. The spokeswoman also said Hice was not in the Capitol when it went into lockdown.

But Hice formally objected to results in Arizona and Pennsylvania and voted against investigation of the attack. The select committee is reportedly interested in his own phone records as Hice remains a vocal proponent of the lie that Trump lost due to electoral fraud, a lie believed by clear majorities of Republicans.

Hice announced his run to be secretary of state in Georgia, last March, later gaining Trumps endorsement. Should he win, he will be in charge of state election counts.

Many outside the Republican party fear the prospect of Trump allies filling such posts in battleground states, preparatory to another attempt to overturn a presidential election.

Its certainly not by accident that were seeing individuals who dont believe in democracy aspire to be our states chief election officers, particularly in the states that were under the greatest spotlight in 2020, Jocelyn Benson, Michigan secretary of state, told the Guardian earlier this month.

Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp, however, have placed Georgia among Republican-run states which have implemented election laws which critics say aim to restrict Democratic turnout.

Asked about visits to Georgia this week by Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, to promote federal voting rights protections, Raffensperger told CBS: 6 January was terrible, but the response doesnt need to be eliminating photo ID and then having same-day registration.

If you dont have the appropriate guardrails in place, then youre not going to have voter confidence in the results.

Pressed on claims by figures including the Georgia gubernatorial candidate and voting rights campaigner Stacey Abrams that state election law is skewed against people of colour, Raffensperger heralded provisions for early voting and said: I think that we have shown that Georgia has fair and honest elections. We have record registrations. We have record turnout.

He also said he was confident Hice would not take over the elections process.

The results will be the results, Raffensperger said, and those will be the results that will be certified. You cannot overturn the will of the people and so that wont matter.

But at the end of the day, I will be re-elected, and he will not be.

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Georgia Republican who resisted Trump insists he stands for integrity and truth - The Guardian