Glenn Youngkin

thumb|The will of the people grants a license to serve. A temporary license extended with trust, with faith, and with expectations to deliver on promises made. Glenn Allen Youngkin (born December 9, 1966) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 74th governor of Virginia from 2022 to 2026. A member of the Republican Party, he spent 25 years at The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, where he became co-CEO in 2018. Quotes thumb|If someone tells you there are no heroes anymore --- tell them to come to Virginia. 2022 "Strengthening the Spirit of Virginia" (15 January 2022) Inaugural address as Governor of Virginia in Richmond, VA The will of the people grants a license to serve. A temporary license extended with trust, with faith, and with expectations to deliver on promises made. Our politics have become too toxic. Soundbites have replaced solutions --- taking precedence over good-faith problem-solving. We must venture forward because a new and better day is ahead of us. After all, we are Virginians whose leaders gave birth to the most exceptional nation the world has ever known. Yes a country with chapters of great injustice. But also a country birthed on the fundamental notion of freedom. That we’re all endowed by our “Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. A nation whose ideas and ideals have been replicated and memorialized around the globe for nearly 250 years. And Virginians have led boldly from our founding – Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and our very first governor, Patrick Henry, who insisted on adding the Bill of Rights to the Constitution to protect our individual liberties. This is our lineage. And following generations carried that mantle, leading and serving as Virginians are called to do. Barrier-breakers like Maggie Walker and Governor Doug Wilder (who is here today) --- leading the way for the historic inauguration today of our new Lt Governor Winsome Earle-Sears and our new Attorney General Jason Miyares. The people of Virginia just elected the most diverse leadership in commonwealth history. Sending a message that Virginia is big enough for the hopes and dreams of a diverse people. We stand here today to accept the license to lead. And will do so by including all and welcoming all. Because the future of Virginia belongs to all. Somewhere along the way we’ve lost the ability to show respect to one another. To disagree without being disagreeable. Our deep respect and gratitude remains for the heroes, who’ve fallen in the service to our nation, the veterans living among us today and those currently serving on active duty America is free because you were and are brave. So I ask every hero serving in our military today, every veteran of the service in years past, every member of law enforcement who has worn the badge, every first responder, to either stand, or raise your hand, so we can recognize your service. If someone tells you there are no heroes anymore --- tell them to come to Virginia. We must set our eyes on the common values and common future that unites us. To work every day to strengthen the spirit of Virginia, and redeem the promise of our people. It’s day one. Let’s get to work. 2025 Address at Hampden-Sydney College (November 2025) A college that is older than America itself; when we think through that statement, it means so much more than a birthday, because Hampden-Sydney was there at the very beginning – a college that not only has contributed mightily to our history, but one that is contributing to our presence and has a deep responsibility to contribute to our collective future. That, my friends, is what standing on the shoulders of giants, is all about. As quoted in "Youngkin marks college’s 250th anniversary", Farmville Herald, 13 November 2025 Hampden-Sydney stands for so much more than an education. It is based on a foundational belief that everyone in here was created in the image of God, and therefore, they deserve the respect to be treated as such. And that in order to represent not only that deep belief, but also the nation under which it was founded, you must be an active citizen. As quoted in "Youngkin marks college’s 250th anniversary", Farmville Herald, 13 November 2025 I will remind you that it doesn’t end when you walk off these grounds. In fact, it becomes even more important because it is less expected in the world today. (It’s important to be) men who learn confidence and embrace moral excellence; men who, after you depart from here, can be counted on to be good citizens. As quoted in "Youngkin marks college’s 250th anniversary", Farmville Herald, 13 November 2025 Quotes about Youngkin thumb|“See, there’s a basic rule here, which is that children belong to parents,” Youngkin said. “Not to the state, not to schools, not to bureaucrats, but to parents.” Notably, children do not “belong to” their parents or guardians, but to themselves, a central tenet of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted more than 30 years ago. The positioning of parents as the ultimate authority over their children has deep roots in fundamentalist Christianity and white supremacy, even as those on the far right like Youngkin insist trans people and advocates are the real “groomers.” ~ Samantha Riedel Dozens of graduating students walked out of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) on Saturday after Gov. Glenn Youngkin took the stage to deliver a commencement address. Video of the Saturday morning incident shows throngs of graduates getting up from their seats and leaving the Greater Richmond Convention Center as the Republican governor began talking. A few could be heard cheering the students on. The governor, who also received an honorary doctorate of humane letters at the commencement ceremony, kicked off his speech with a shout-out to all the mothers ahead of Mother’s Day. He did not acknowledge those leaving and carried on with his speech. "The world needs your music," Youngkin said to those students still in attendance. "You, all of you, will be the symphony. Make it a masterpiece." Bradford Betz, "VCU students walk out of Gov Youngkin's commencement speech", Fox News, 12 May 2024 Many who left during Youngkin’s speech showed support for Palestinians amid Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip against Hamas terrorists. Others held signs signaling their opposition to the governor’s education policies, per reporting from local outlet WRIC-TV. The dissenters marched around the perimeter while chanting, "No books, no peace, let the knowledge increase" and "Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest." Later, a group of graduates, many still in their graduation gowns, ended up in a park and chanted, "The people united will never be defeated." Fox News Digital reached out to VCU and the governor’s office for comment. Bradford Betz, "VCU students walk out of Gov Youngkin's commencement speech", Fox News, 12 May 2024 Between numerous calls for bipartisanship, Youngkin issued one clear veto threat. He promised to block any effort to repeal the state’s right-to-work law, which inhibits labor organizing by barring unions from requiring workers to pay dues in unionized workplaces. “Please don’t bring me a bill that impacts Virginians’ right to work, as it will be met with the business end of my veto pen,” Youngkin said.It’s unclear if Democrats plan to pursue right-to-work repeal. The issue has divided the party in the past, with progressives pushing repeal as a top labor priority and more centrist, pro-business Democrats resisting the idea. Graham Moomaw, "Youngkin re-ups call for tax changes, vows to veto right-to-work repeal", Virginia Mercury, 10 January 2024 A transgender teen called out Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin to his face for his anti-trans policies at a CNN town hall Thursday night. The town hall event, which the news network titled “The War on Education,” began contentiously as Niko, a trans boy in high school, bluntly confronted Youngkin about the nonsensicality of his “model policies,” which would, in part, force students to use bathrooms and locker rooms matching their assigned sex at birth, rather than lived gender. Hundreds of students across the state walked out of school in protest of the model policies when they were released last year.“Look at me. I am a transgender man,” Niko said, smiling slightly. “Do you really think that the girls in my high school would feel comfortable sharing a restroom with me?”To be clear, “passing” trans people are not the only ones who should be able to use gendered facilities, and some folks are a little too eager to imply that’s what matters. Still, Niko’s question hits at the hypocritical core of anti-trans laws, which quite literally force boys to use girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms. Samantha Riedel, "A Trans Teen Called Out Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin at a Town Hall ", Them, 10 March 2023 Predictably, Youngkin began to evade and dissemble the moment a question mark left Niko’s lips. The governor quickly deflected the issue towards trans girls joining gendered sports teams — which eagle-eyed readers will notice is not what Niko asked about — and stuck to his base-rallying message: “when parents are engaged with their children, then you can make good decisions together.”Youngkin, who was the CEO of the private equity firm The Carlyle Group until 2020, won election in 2021 on the back of a Donald Trump endorsement and moral panic over LGBTQ+ and racial justice books in schools, like Maia Kobabe’s coming-of-age graphic novel Gender Queer. Youngkin insisted to the Town Hall audience that “parents have a right to be engaged in their children’s lives,” sidestepping entirely the question of unaccepting or abusive guardians to assert that “a child does want their parent.” Samantha Riedel, "A Trans Teen Called Out Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin at a Town Hall ", Them, 10 March 2023 “See, there’s a basic rule here, which is that children belong to parents,” Youngkin said. “Not to the state, not to schools, not to bureaucrats, but to parents.” Notably, children do not “belong to” their parents or guardians, but to themselves, a central tenet of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted more than 30 years ago. The positioning of parents as the ultimate authority over their children has deep roots in fundamentalist Christianity and white supremacy, even as those on the far right like Youngkin insist trans people and advocates are the real “groomers.”“Tonight, Glenn Youngkin once again claimed that he believes that ‘parents matter.’ In reality, he only cares about some parents,” said Geoff Wetrosky, Campaign Director at the Human Rights Campaign, in a statement Thursday night. “His extremist, anti-LGBTQ+ positions should have no place in Virginia, or this country.” Samantha Riedel, "A Trans Teen Called Out Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin at a Town Hall ", Them, 10 March 2023 Category:Governors of Virginia Category:Republican Party (United States) politicians Category:Businesspeople from the United States Category:Christians from the United States Category:Harvard University alumni Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:People from Richmond