Post-Trump Virginia Layoffs

Donald Trump had the worst record on jobs of any President in American history in his first term as shown by the graph on the right.  He is well on his way to a repeat performance.

Since the election of Donald Trump and the imposition of his Project 2025 Policies, we have seen a steady stream of layoffs in the Commonwealth of Virginia while Governor Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares cheer him on.

Here is a running list for our state.

Virginia Job Losses Due to Trump Administration Actions

Date	Region	Company	Number of Jobs Cut	Link
5/1/25	Northern Virginia	Goldschmitt & Associates	217	https://virginiabusiness.com/goldschmitt-layoffs-northern-virginia/
6/3/25	Northern Virginia	Mitre	442	https://virginiabusiness.com/nova-govcon-firm-mitre-to-lay-off-442-employees-after-doge-cuts-contracts/
6/25	Northern Virginia	Booz Allen	2,500	https://virginiabusiness.com/booz-allen-layoffs/
4/21/25	Southwest	Volvo	530	https://cardinalnews.org/2025/04/21/volvo-layoffs-to-affect-up-to-350-at-new-river-valley-plant/
5/28/25	Hampton Roads	Newport News Shipbuilding	471	https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/newport-news/hiis-newport-news-shipbuilding-furloughs-over-400-employees/

4/1/25             Northern                                 

                Virginia       Leidos              29             https://www.ffxnow.com/2025/04/04/report-federal-                                                                                           contractors-in-tysons-reston-to-lay-off-workers/                                                                 

               

If you have any additions to this list, please email my staff at scottsurovell@gmail.com.  

Undergrounding Wires Can Reduce Outages

                As people in some parts of Eastern Fairfax County continue to recover from May 16th’s devastating storms that left approximately 200,000 customers without power for over two days and tragically claimed two lives, we are once again confronted with a stark reality: our electrical infrastructure remains vulnerable to nature's wrath and we are extremely dependent on electricity for our quality of life.

                 I have received dozens of requests for underground utilities in the wake of this storm.  I have good news and bad news.  The good news is that the Virginia General Assembly has already authorized some limited undergrounding of outdoor electrical [only? other?] wiring and even authorized a special program for Fairfax County.  The bad news is that our action will never be enough and there continue to be many obstacles to robust, widespread undergrounding. For example, Fairfax County has chosen not to take advantage of the program the General Assembly has made available.

                 In Virginia, electric power is mostly provided by utilities like Dominion Energy that have a monopoly, but provide services subject to oversight by the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) and the state legislature to ensure that they do not abuse this monopoly power.  One study of universal undergrounding of all electric utilities across the Commonwealth found the cost would exceed $150 billion.

                 In 2011-2012, Dominion Energy studied the feasibility of undergrounding residential electrical tap or feeder lines and the cost and the reliability improvements that could be generated.  After the study, the General Assembly authorized Dominion Energy to spend a limited percentage of their annual revenues on undergrounding residential feeder lines, but not distribution or transmission lines which are larger and exponentially more expensive to bury. 
This program requires Dominion to analyze a decade of power outage data and to prioritize burying lines that are the most vulnerable to outages.  By prioritizing funds, this approach reduces some future outages, allows workers to focus on other problems and to restore the system to full operation more quickly.

               We prohibited utilities from spending more than $20,000 per customer served directly by or downline of the converted lines and no more than $750,000 per mile for conversion to underground, exclusive of financing costs.  The total anticipated expenditure is approximately $2 billion and each project is reviewed by the SCC to ensure compliance with state law and Virginia’s longstanding policy of minimizing electrical utility rates.

Conversions Have Reduced Outage Times by 50 Percent

               Since adoption, the program has converted 7,300 neighborhood feeder or "tap lines” totaling approximately 2,480 miles of underground power infrastructure of what will eventually likely be up to 4,000 miles of overhead tap lines.  Much of this has been in Fairfax County.  These conversions are estimated to reduce outage times by 50 percent.

               According to Dominion's most recent figures, the Strategic Underground Program has prevented an estimated 3,610 outage events every year. Even more impressive is the dramatic reduction in the system average interruption duration index (SAIDI) for customers in converted zones, from a pre-conversion SAIDI of 556 minutes to just 2.25 minutes after undergrounding.  This represents a 99.6 percent improvement in outage duration.

               For communities that have experienced major storms, the benefits are particularly evident, with Dominion reporting a 20-30 percent reduction in total restoration time following severe weather events where restoration would typically exceed 72 hours. This means faster recovery for all customers across the grid, even those whose lines remain above ground, as crews can focus on other affected areas rather than dealing with the most chronically-vulnerable sections.

              Virginians should understand that Dominion will only move forward with eligible programs if all homeowners on the undergrounding project agree to modify their existing easements and transformer placements to alleviate the need for time-consuming and expensive condemnation proceedings.  In addition, the projects cannot include cable or telephone lines because those companies have no means to recover costs from ratepayers since they are unregulated, non-mandatory utilities. 

               In 2019, I carried legislation which allowed Fairfax County to adopt a tax of up to $1 per month per household to fund burying distribution lines as long as the planned U.S. 1 Bus Rapid Transit Project would be the first recipient of funds.  Commendably, Prince William County has buried distribution lines on their entire 14-mile stretch of U.S. 1.  It was my hope this program would be used to improve reliability in our community, reduce project damage and enhance the beauty of the U.S. 1 Corridor, but the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has not utilized this authority.

               Going forward, if underground electricity lines are important for your community, people need to cooperate with Dominion if the company determines that your neighborhood is eligible.  In the meantime, I will continue to explore ways to make our electrical infrastructure more resilient as climate changes continues to make the weather more volatile and bring on more frequent and more severe storms.

               If you have any comments or questions, please reach out to me at scott@scottsurovell.org.

Youngkin Fails to Collaborate

         Last week, Gov. Glenn Youngkin completed action on the state budget and legislation from the General Assembly after we took action on his first round of proposed amendments and vetoes. The actions bring a conclusion to four years of an usual style of dealing with the General Assembly and a disappointing end to this budget cycle. 

        Governor Youngkin vetoed an additional 38 bills bringing this four-year total to 437 vetoes which broke the prior record of Governor McAuliffe by 317. None of Governor Youngkin’s budget vetoes were discussed with the General Assembly in advance and the pure number of vetoes and amendments was unprecedented. Prior governors such as Mark Warner and Tim Kaine governed with legislatures controlled by the other party and typically vetoed less than 10 bills per session.

        This behavior is contrary to the Governor’s campaign promises to work towards bipartisan compromise. For example, he vetoed many bills that passed unanimously and one of my procedural cleanup bills that received just two negative votes after four committee hearings and six floor sessions. Most of these vetoes came with no notice or dialogue prior to announcement.

        The Governor also made 37 “line item vetoes” to our state budget and claimed it was necessary because the Commonwealth needs to reduce spending and reserve funds due to economic uncertainty. While I appreciate the Governor’s recognition that the Trump Administration has created extraordinary risk to the Virginia economy, his line item vetoes were unusual in many respects.

        First, the Governor vetoed $900 million of capital spending – most of which he proposed in his December budget. This is the second year that Governor Youngkin has rejected budget proposals that he initially proposed. It is impossible to cooperate with someone who cannot agree with his own proposals. 

        Second, the Commonwealth currently has the largest combined revenue reserves we have ever held in the history of the Commonwealth — $4 billion. These are a combination of constitutionally required “Rainy Day Fund” deposits and a General Assembly established revenue reserve fund we created consistent with our conservative budgeting which maintains our triple A bond status that keeps borrowing costs low for taxpayers.

        He also gave no notice that he wanted to cut this spending and engaged in no dialogue. In addition, construction spending is exactly what economists recommend in economic downturns because of the broad impact it has on various sectors. The Trump Administration’s tariffs are also likely to make these projects more expensive if the Commonwealth delays them even six months. 

        The Governor also cut much needed and merited spending including a new first time homebuyer program and renter’s assistance to help young people with affordable housing. 

        Governor Youngkin also rejected our proposal to lower the body mass index required to obtain new weight loss drug regimes funded by Medicaid. The General Assembly proposed a BMI of 35 or more or 30 if someone has diabetes. A BMI of 30/35 equals about 200/235 lbs. for a 5’10” person. His rejection of the lower BMI proposal saves taxpayers only $7 million while forfeiting $40 million in federal matching funds, and will cost taxpayers millions more in obesity-related healthcare expenses.. He also vetoed additional investments in Geriatric and Dementia services for elderly in nursing homes. 

        We also saw line item vetoes for community violence reduction grants and over $20 million towards our $400 million state park deferred maintenance needs. He also vetoed tens of millions in storm water mitigation, Hurricane Helene relief money, and environmental education programs.

        Other than actions we will likely have to take this fall to triage The Trump Administration’s proposed massive cuts to Medicaid, education funding and climate change policy, this was Governor Youngkin’s last chance to reach bipartisan compromise in our regular budget cycle before his term ends. He has continued to attempt to govern as a partisan candidate and make decisions based on his next Republican primary or act unilaterally like a business executive rather than work with the legislative branch of government to reach consensus. I am hopeful our next Governor will not make the same choice.  

Virginia Legislature Begins Work

Virginia Legislature Begins Work

By Senator Scott A. Surovell

 The first week of the 2025 regular session of the General Assembly which began on January 7 was one of the more bizarre starts I have ever experienced.

            While Fairfax County got around eight inches of snow, Richmond had three inches, but the snow managed to take down the entire public water system for six days.  Two backup systems failed along with a switch and several pumps.  This forced General Assembly leaders to gavel in on the first day of the session and then recess until January 13.

            While the lack of water meant a slow start, we have plenty to do.  I am carrying approximately 25 bills and about 30 budget amendments, and have responsibilities as Senate Majority Leader, Chairman of the Courts of Justice Committee, the General Government Subcommittee of the Finance and Appropriations Committee and the Cannabis Subcommittee of the Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee.

            For now, I’ll single out several of my bills that have a direct impact on our area.  First, we  continue to see many collisions on the south George Washington Memorial Parkway (“the Parkway”) at Belle Haven Road and Belleview Boulevard. I have received numerous complaints about excessive speeds and a lack of enforcement by the United States Park Police, especially in the wake of the Bijan Ghaisar shooting.  I have introduced a bill to authorize the Virginia State Police and Fairfax County Police Department to conduct traffic enforcement on the Parkway and to allow those agencies to install photo speed monitoring devices. 

             A second bill I have proposed addresses access to health care facilities.  People entering and leaving a women’s health clinic in our community have experienced significant harassment.  My bill requires anyone picketing a health care facility to stay at least 40 feet away from the main entrance and to refrain from obstructing access or leafletting patients in that zone. This is similar to the state’s rules for polling places. 

Holding the Line on Property Taxes

            In 2016, MGM opened a new casino at National Harbor and announced that one-third of their revenue would come from Virginia customers.  I wrote a column in the Richmond Times Dispatch arguing that Virginia needs to embrace casino gaming or else we would be exporting hundreds of millions of Virginia tax dollars to Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee, states that have casinos.  Last year, the National Harbor casino grossed $850 million in tax revenue for Maryland and Prince George’s County. One-third of those dollars came from Virginia.

           I have introduced legislation to authorize the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to put a referendum on the ballot to allow Fairfax County voters to vote on a casino in Tyson’s Corner. Experts estimate that it could generate at least $100 million for Fairfax County, which equals about three percent of Fairfax County’s current real estate taxes or about $300 per year per Fairfax County household. 

           For too long, Fairfax County has relied on real estate taxes for revenue and since at least 1970, the county has attempted to diversity its tax base by attracting more commercial office space, but commercial space valuations are cratering due to remote work.  This is in part why Fairfax County now has the highest real estate tax rate in all of Virginia (except for Falls Church).  This project would take pressure off your real estate taxes.

            A casino would be only five percent of the entire floor space because the bill also requires the project to include a 1.5-million-square-foot entertainment complex and convention center.  Fairfax County is larger than eight states and does not have a place to host 1,000+ person conventions, events that can also generate significant revenue.

The project will create 2,000 union construction jobs and 5,000 permanent union casino jobs, opening doors for non-college-educated and other workers to both live and work in Fairfax County. 

            Every year since I was elected in 2009, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has asked for authority to diversify their revenue sources.   Two years ago, the General Assembly gave the county the same taxing authority as cities.  This bill is one more step to help keep your taxes down. 

            Please email me at scott@scottsurovell.org if you have any feedback.  It is an honor to serve as your state senator.  

Winter Storm Blair

Last night Winter Storm Blair arrived in our region.  It will stay with us throughout the day, additional snowfall is expected Monday night, and cleanup efforts will continue for days after.  As much as a foot or more of snow is projected in some areas, and with temperatures climbing into the mid-30s during the day, there will likely be very icy conditions for a couple days.

A fresh snowstorm is expected to arrive this coming weekend, and while it is expected to be less severe, it will make cleanup and recovery more challenging.  I'm sharing in this post a number of resources you can use to keep informed and stay safe for as long as these conditions last.

Fairfax County Public Schools

Fairfax County Public Schools are closed today, along with all extracurricular and recreational activities.  For more information on when they will be open you can visit their website for up-to-date information.

Click here for Fairfax Schools current alerts

Virginia Department of Transportation

VDOT has been hard at work since before the storm arrived to prepare our roads and highways.  However, VDOT is asking that Virginians do not travel today unless absolutely necessary, as dangerous driving conditions exist and are difficult to predict.  While the capacity of our roads is limited, it is important that first responders be able to traverse them, as well as crews from VDOT and our utilities.

The Northern Virginia District has over 17,000 residential streets that VDOT needs to treat, so it may be some time before your neighborhood is cleared.  To monitor road conditions you can visit 511.vdot.virginia.gov, download the VDOT mobile app, or call 511 from any phone in Virginia.  VDOT also offers a real time VDOT Plows map where you can track their progress.

Public Transit

Metrobus will be offering limited service, with 42 of 193 bus routes operational.  You can find specific information about available bus service at WMATA's Severe Snow Routes page.  Metrorail is expected to continue operating without interruption, excepting a planned closure of the Archives rail station due to the funeral of President Jimmy Carter from January 6-9th.  For up-to-date information as the storm progresses and cleanup continues visit MetroPulse.

Utility Service

The initial snowfall is just the beginning of the challenge this storm will present to our utilities. As snow melts, refreezes, and melts and refreezes again, the risk of downed powerlines continues.

If you are a Dominion customer and you lose power, there are three easy ways to report your outage and track your restoration time: 1) Dominion Energy mobile apps, iPhone [apps.apple.com] and Google [play.google.com]; 2) Dominion Energy website; or 3) Call 866-DOM-HELP (866-366-4357).

Customers of Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative can log into NOVEC SmartHub, call (703) 335-0500, or text "#OUT" to 85700.

If you witness a downed pole or power line, please stay a safe distance away and call 866-DOM-HELP.

Gas service is less likely to be impacted by the storm, but home heating is critical until the storm abates.  Anyone experiencing service disruption should call 844-WASHGAS, and remember that you should NEVER use an oven or range top to heat your home.  For other tips on preparedness and safety during wintry conditions visit their Winter Preparedness page.

Services for Unsheltered and Homeless

Fairfax County's Hypothermia Prevention Program, operating since 2005, offers extra resources for those struggling with homelessness during dangerous times such as this.  Anyone seeking information about services can call (703) 222-0880 or one of these locations:

Katherine K. Hanley Family Shelter (12970 Katherine Hanley Court, Fairfax; 571-522-6800)
Embry Rucker Community Shelter (11975 Bowman Town Drive, Reston; 703-437-1975)
Patrick Henry Family Shelter (3080 Patrick Henry Drive, Falls Church; 703-536-2155)
Next Steps Family Program (Various Locations Countywide; 703-360-1727)  

Constituent Services

The scope of the legislative session is limited by the Constitution of Virginia, so only in the most severe weather conditions will we stop our work.  Though many state offices are closed due to the weather, I am in Richmond at the General Assembly Building for committee meetings as we prepare to begin the Legislative Session on Wednesday.  If you need assistance in contacting any of these needed government services during this ongoing wintry disruption, please do not hesitate to email my office at senatorsurovell@senate.virginia.gov.