Gov. Glenn Youngkin has consistently backed former President Donald Trump’s policies, even as reports suggest those policies have harmed Virginia’s economy. Despite growing concern, Democratic leaders have urged Youngkin — along with Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares, to break their silence and challenge the administration’s approach, warning that continued support could further damage the commonwealth’s economic outlook.
On Thursday, a key economic indicator—one Youngkin has previously cited as a benchmark of success — delivered more evidence that Trump’s policies are taking a toll on Virginia’s economy.
CNBC’s annual list of Top States for Business was released Thursday morning, and Virginia fell from first place last year to fourth this year.
Virginia ranked number one in 2019 and 2021, number three in 2022, and number two in 2023, before returning to the top spot again last year. (CNBC did not release a list in 2020 due to the pandemic.)
With Virginia receiving its lowest ranking in years, it is worth noting that CNBC introduced a new metric to evaluate states this year: tariffs and federal job cuts — two priorities of the Trump administration that Youngkin and Republican gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears have defended.
“I don’t believe that the federal government downsizing is wrong, and in fact, we need to press forward and drive efficiencies in our federal government,” Youngkin said during an event in February. “And as a result of driving those efficiencies, I do expect that some Virginians will lose their jobs.”
Virginia has the second-highest number of federal employees among any state in the country. Before Trump took office in January, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management said there were more than 140,000 federal employees in Virginia.
CNBC cited these workforce cuts as the reason for Virginia’s drop.
Youngkin, in a statement Thursday, said the new methodology that includes federal workforce cuts is “subjective” and “ascribes substantial risk to Virginia from the federal government’s presence in the commonwealth.”
Earle-Sears downplayed the federal job cuts during an event earlier this year. The Democratic group, MeidasTouch, first posted the audio.
“How many here have ever lost a job? Oh, you mean it’s not unusual? It happens to everybody all the time? Okay,” Earle-Sears said. “The media is making it out to be this huge, huge thing. And I don’t understand why.”
Virginia’s drop in the rankings comes at a particularly inopportune time for Republicans, as they seek to retain power in the executive branch this November and flip the majority in the House of Delegates.
“House Republicans and Republican leadership are so terrified of Trump, that they refuse to acknowledge the obvious: that his policies are hurting Virginia and they are taking us backwards,” said Speaker of the House Don Scott, D-Portsmouth. “It’s incumbent upon everyone to recognize that this year it is so important that we elect Abigail Spanberger for governor, and that we send back a Democratic majority in the House so that we can get Virginia on the right track to be able to innoculate ourselves against the Trump tax increases and healthcare cuts.”
Spanberger in a statement on social media said that Virginia’s slip to fourth is “in part due to Donald Trump’s attacks on Virginia jobs and the Youngkin-Sears Administration’s refusal to stand up to him.”
“Today’s rankings make it clear that Virginia needs a governor who will build a more resilient economy, expand our workforce, and protect workers and small businesses in the face of ongoing threats from Trump’s Washington,” she continued. “As Governor, I’ll work to attract new business and investment to Virginia — and unlike my opponent, I won’t dismiss attacks on our economy or reputation.”
Earle-Sears’ campaign blamed Democrats in charge of the General Assembly for Virginia’s drop.
“This frighteningly is a harbinger of things to come if Democrats continue to stand in the way of smart economic policies that foster growth and opportunity,” said Peyton Vogel, the press secretary for Earle-Sears. “Our competitive advantage nationally has already been weakened with liberal control in the General Assembly. It’ll be hard-working Virginians who pay the price if Abigail Spanberger is governor.”