Governor Northam: “Whether Miyares is beholden to Trump’s political agenda and his MAGA donors or just too weak to stand up to Trump, the fact remains: He has abandoned his responsibility to protect and defend Virginia families and the economy they have worked so hard to build.”
Norfolk, VA – This weekend, The Virginian-Pilot published a new op-ed from former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, which highlighted MAGA Attorney General Jason Miyares’ failure to stand up to Donald Trump’s assaults on Virginia’s working families and economy – from refusing to protect the 300,000 federal workers and contractors at risk of losing their jobs to letting Trump’s tariffs skyrocket costs for consumers and hurt Virginia businesses.
In sharp contrast, Democratic candidate for Attorney General Jay Jones is ready to defend Virginia’s economic interests by joining lawsuits against harmful federal overreach, prioritizing workforce development and affordability, and holding both Washington and Richmond accountable to the people.
Read the full column below:
Virginian-Pilot: Column: Miyares sided with Trump. Virginia’s economy is paying the price.
Governor Ralph S. Northam | August 3, 2025
Virginia’s workforce is the best of the best — from our small business owners, child care workers and health care providers to federal civil servants. That’s why last month’s news that Virginia was the only state to see unemployment rise in June just days after ratings dropped us from the No. 1 to No. 4 best state for business for the first time in six years presented us with a sobering reality: Our leadership’s inaction and deference to President Donald Trump has “disproportionately” worsened our economy and made life more expensive for working families.
At the center of this is Attorney General Jason Miyares, who has stayed silent not only as Virginia lost its ranking, but also through every assault the Trump administration has made against Virginians and our economy — including failing to defend the 300,000 Virginia workers actively at risk of losing their jobs due to Trump’s ongoing federal workforce cuts.
I’m proud that during my tenure, Virginia regained and kept the title of America’s top state for business. My administration invested $80 billion in economic development deals to support Virginia’s “world-class workforce” by fostering collaboration, creating higher-paying jobs and diversifying regional economies.
To ensure our kids were prepared for the workforce, my administration invested $1.2 billion in K-12 schools and pushed for millions in investments for low-income students to attend Virginia’s public universities — the same schools Miyares is refusing to protect as they come under fire from the Trump administration.
By putting hardworking families first, we were even able to protect our ranking as the best state for business during the pandemic, when Virginia invested $30 million in resources and workforce training programs for Virginians who had been furloughed or lost their jobs to get us through our economy’s toughest times.
Four years later — when our economy should be stronger — Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Miyares are cheering on Trump as he takes the hammer to our workforce, creating a level of destruction that economists say will have a “ripple effect” through every aspect of our economy.
Our leaders know that when federal job cuts hit, they hit Virginia harder than anywhere else. That means our attorney general has an even greater responsibility to protect Virginians from harmful federal overreach. Yet, when a coalition of attorneys general sued the Trump administration seeking relief for tens of thousands of fired workers, Miyares chose his allegiance to Trump over safeguarding Virginians being indiscriminately fired.
Now, Virginia families are paying the price. Public servants are losing their livelihoods, parents are struggling to pay for child care, and families are forced to make impossible decisions as their incomes vanish overnight. But our attorney general — emboldened by MAGA extremism — has refused to challenge unlawful executive orders, opted out of multiple bipartisan lawsuits, and stayed quiet behind Trump. In April, Miyares refused to join a lawsuit over Trump’s illegal tariffs, which skyrocketed costs for Virginia consumers, especially those in our rural communities, and sent the U.S. stock market into a spiral.
Whether Miyares is beholden to Trump’s political agenda and his MAGA donors or just too weak to stand up to Trump, the fact remains: He has abandoned his responsibility to protect and defend Virginia families and the economy they have worked so hard to build.
Virginia didn’t become a top state for business by chance. It’s a title we earned through smart governance and an independent legal system that protected workers and fought corporate greed. We lost that title because Miyares has willingly allowed Trump to risk thousands of Virginia’s small businesses, law enforcement jobs and public servants without reason or remorse.
Virginia is the best our country has to offer, and it deserves leadership that puts people over politics. This November, voters have a choice: Keep sliding backward with Miyares’ MAGA politics, or fight to restore principled, forward-looking leadership that puts Virginians first.
