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Abigail Spanberger sold herself to Virginians as a “moderate” who would keep the Commonwealth steady, but her first days in office have shown exactly how hollow that pitch was. On January 17 she signed ten executive orders that set a very different tone — sweeping directives on immigration, education, and state governance that mirror the national Democratic playbook. The speed and scope of these moves make clear that Spanberger plans to govern as a partisan left-wing executive, not the pragmatic centrist she promised.
One of the most alarming actions for conservatives was her immediate repeal of former Governor Youngkin’s immigration order, which encouraged cooperation between state and federal immigration authorities. Spanberger’s move to end that arrangement will be hailed by open-borders activists, but Republicans and law enforcement officials warn it handicaps local efforts to keep dangerous illegal criminals off our streets. This isn’t innocent policy tinkering — it’s a day-one signal that she will prioritize ideology over the safety of everyday Virginians.
Spanberger also wasted no time reshaping higher education leadership by naming 27 new appointees to the Boards of Visitors at U‑Va., George Mason, and VMI while ordering a review of the board selection process. Those appointments hand control to her allies and political picks, and they come amid ongoing federal investigations and contentious campus debates over discrimination and free speech. What she calls “restoring academic integrity” looks a lot like politicizing universities from the governor’s mansion, and it threatens the independence of institutions that should be insulated from partisan power grabs.
Energy policy is next on her checklist — Spanberger has already announced plans to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, resurrecting a multistate carbon scheme that critics call a backdoor tax on families. She spins this as “cost savings” and aid for flood mitigation, but Virginia conservatives know RGGI’s auction fees translate into higher electric bills and an expanded regulatory regime that will hit working households and small businesses. If Virginians were hoping for relief after years of rising costs, this pivot should set off alarm bells in every county.
Her “High-Quality Public Education” order reads like a PR brochure while leaving out the real choices parents care about, like school choice and local control. Spanberger’s directives create new workgroups and listening tours but refuse to acknowledge that education freedom — not more state mandates — is what will deliver opportunities for children locked into failing systems. Conservatives should expect more bureaucratic layering and messaging about “equity” while practical solutions are shoved to the sidelines.
Taken together, these first-week actions expose a clear pattern: Spanberger ran toward the center to win, then pivoted left to govern. Virginians who believed her moderate branding now face the consequences of a unified Democratic government rolling out policies that expand state power, raise costs, and decouple law enforcement from common-sense cooperation. This is the textbook progressive hand — move quickly, consolidate control over key institutions, and make sweeping changes before opposition can organize.
Republicans and grassroots conservatives need to treat this moment like the wake-up call it is: mobilize, hold the new administration accountable at the ballot box and in the courts, and push back hard against any policy that raises taxes, weakens public safety, or co-opts our schools. Working families didn’t win an election just to watch their paychecks and freedoms get squeezed by clever political theater. If we want to protect Virginia’s future, we must be loud, organized, and relentless in defense of common-sense government.
Spanberger promised moderation; what she delivered instead was a rapid leftward blitz that will change Virginia’s politics and pocketbooks unless conservatives respond with the kind of focused, energetic opposition that defends liberty and opportunity for every Virginian.
