The monthly Virginia congressional delegation lunch with Governor Glenn Youngkin became contentious on Monday when conversation turned to the Virginia Department of Education’s new model policies to replace current transgender policies, eventually leading to Representative Bob Good (R-VA-05) defending the policies. Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) cursed at Good, according to reports.
Good said suicide rates among transgender students are due to “grooming,” according to The Washington Post, and accused teachers of involvement with “genital mutilation,” according to Punchbowl.
“That’s not f—ing true,” Spanberger said, according to The Post.
“Spanberger was upset by the ‘aggressive nature’ of Good’s comments on transgender students and cursed at him, several attendees said. So yeah, it was a rough meeting,” Punchbowl reported.
Representative Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10) began the discussion by highlighting her concerns about the impact on transgender students’ mental health, and Representative Don Beyer (D-VA-08) and Spanberger added to his concerns, according to The Post. Youngkin said the draft is a statement on parental rights. Then, Good spoke up, leading to Spanberger’s reaction.
Good told Punchbowl, “[It was] my turn to speak, and I refuted her position and said, ‘This is telling. This is where the Democrat Party is today. This is who they are today.’ This is the party that believes not only in grooming and encouraging gender confusion of elementary and middle school students – which is up some 4,000 percent from just a couple years ago because of what is happening in our schools — but this is also the party that supports the surgical procedures on minor children. Irreversible, harmful procedures. Mutilation of children. This party will not condemn that, it supports that.”
“Good stood his ground and insisted he was the one telling the truth, according to people familiar with the exchange, before Sen. Tim Kaine (D) stepped in to calm things down by reciting a Bible verse, Matthew 25:40: ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,” The Post reported.
Both articles were based largely on anonymous reports of the exchange.
Representative H. Morgan Griffth’s (R-VA-09) spokesperson Kevin Baird confirmed Good’s account of the exchange.
Other members of the delegation and Youngkin’s office didn’t offer comment, except Beyer’s spokesperson Aaron Fritschner, who said that the governor is usually invited at least once a year to the monthly lunch with the delegation. The discussions are private, he said.
The exchange between the delegation and Youngkin highlights the emotions surrounding transgender policy and education, issues being fought over from local districts all the way up to national elections. All of Virginia’s congressmen are up for re-election, including Spanberger, who is facing Yesli Vega in a competitive race that may be shifting in favor of Spanberger.
Republicans seized on the reports: “Spanberger has completely lost it,” the National Republican Congressional Committee said.
Vega tweeted Wednesday, “Spanberger’s screaming fits are because boys can’t go into girls restrooms or dominate girls sports in Virginia. Spanberger is out of touch with #VA7.”
Vega supporter John Fredericks, the publisher of The Virginia Star, said in a statement, “Abigail Spanberger is a stone-cold liar and a political fraud whose phony farce is about to be exposed. She got called out for her DC-AOC positions and completely unraveled. She knows she’ll be looking for a pig-trough lobby job gig on K-Street come November 8.”
Fredericks criticized Spanberger for voting with other Democrats: “For four years she says one thing in her district-then rolls up the windows on her trek up I-95 north and votes with the Marxists as soon as she hits D.C. Then she pops off to The New York Times about how the DEMS are a mess – but votes with them 100 percent of the time and takes their money. So sure, she’s cursing at Bob.”
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. This article originally appeared in The Virginia Star. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of The Republican Standard. Republished with permission.