Virginia Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton said Monday she will not be seeking reelection, citing health concerns.
The third-term Democrat previously announced she was battling Parkinson’s Disease and receiving treatments. After further testing amid unresponsive treatment, Wexton disclosed she had been diagnosed with Progressive Supra-nuclear Palsy, type-p. The congresswoman said the disease is characterized as “’Parkinson’s on steroids.’”
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A judge dismissed recall efforts against Loudoun County School Board Chair Brenda Sheridan and Atoosa Reaser Monday, after an outside prosecutor couldn’t find evidence to pursue the recall.
“I’m so grateful that today, the independent Commonwealth’s attorney found that their petition lacks any reasonable factual basis,” Reaser said in a press conference recorded by 7NewsDC.
Reaser said the process took a toll on her and her family.
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In new fundraising results, Democrats are leading in congressional midterm races in Virginia’s second, seventh, and tenth congressional districts. The GOP hasn’t yet picked nominees for those races, but state Senator Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia Beach), Derrick Anderson, and Prince William County Supervisor Jeanine Lawson are leading in funds raised for races in CD two, seven, and ten respectively, according to data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project.
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The House of Representatives passed HR 6833, a bill to cap a month’s supply of certain insulin products at $35 or 25 percent of the plan’s negotiated price. Only 12 Republicans voted for the bill and Virginia’s delegation split along party lines. Several Virginia Democrats touted the bill’s passage in press releases, but in a Friday email update, Representative Rob Wittman (R-Virginia-01) said the bill was a major expansion of federal control over private health insurance.
“Today, we are talking about the Affordable Insulin Now Act, a bill that would make changes in the lives, in Virginia, of the more than 630,000 Virginians who are living with diabetes,” Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-Virginia-07) said in a speech, highlighted in a press release. “The Affordable Insulin Now Act would finally make sure that every affected child, teenager, family member, every American can afford the insulin that they need. People living with diabetes do not have the choice of whether to purchase insulin or not — they depend on it to stay alive.”
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The Virginia Supreme Court on Tuesday approved the final version of congressional and legislative maps that will enact political boundaries for the next decade.
The process allowed for the judicial branch to determine the districts after the Virginia Redistricting Commission failed to produce any maps.
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The Virginia Supreme Court’s Special Masters released their first redistricting map proposals Tuesday, receiving mixed reactions over what will be a major shakeup for Virginia incumbents if final drafts are similar to the proposals.
The Court chose Republican-nominated Sean Trende and Democratic-nominated Bernard Grofman to draw the maps.
“These maps reflect a true joint effort on our part. We agreed on almost all issues initially, and the few issues on which we initially disagreed were resolved by amicable discussion,” the Special Masters wrote in a memo. “[W]e took seriously the Court’s command that, although we were nominated by the political parties, we would behave in ‘an apolitical and nonpartisan manner.’ Our duty is owed not to the parties that nominated us, but rather to the Court that appointed us and to the residents of the Commonwealth that it serves.”
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Virginia’s congressional delegation split along party lines on a vote to legally codify providers’ right to provide abortions and patients’ right to receive abortions. The Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021 passed out of the House of Representatives Friday in a 218-211 vote with no Republicans voting for, and no Democrats voting against, although two Republicans and one Democrat did not vote. The bill now faces an uphill battle in the Senate.
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President Biden addressed the nation late Monday afternoon to discuss the ongoing national security and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Some congressional leaders were furious at the Biden Administration’s lack of leadership on the issue. Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ-02), a former Democrat who switched parties in 2020, lashed out and called for the resignation of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) hinted Monday that the Cabinet should consider invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Biden.
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Prince William Supervisor Jeanine Lawson is running for the GOP nomination for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. Lawson joins four other candidates for the nomination; the winner will challenge incumbent Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-Virginia-10.)
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Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-Virginia-10) made two stops in northern Virginia on Friday and Monday discussing impacts of COVID-19 and financial opportunities from federal relief.
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White’s Ferry has been carrying goods and passengers across the Potomac River for over 200 years, but on Monday the operators announced that they have stopped their operations after the Loudoun County Circuit Court ruled that the ferry business does not have right to use the river landing on the Virginia side of the river.
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After two years in Congress, Representative Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10) has been nominated to the powerful House Appropriations Committee for the 117th session which starts in January. The current session is the first in over a century where Virginia had no representatives on the committee, according to a Wexton press release. She will be able to advocate funding for Virginia priorities like infrastructure and national defense.
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