Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, who represents Virginia’s fourth congressional district, is a veteran of Virginia politics. With Donald Trump entering his second term in office, Rep. McClellan and her colleagues have a political fight on their hands against MAGA Republicans who want to end the civil service, gut Social Security and move federal employees out of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

McClellan served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2006 to 2017. She then served in the Virginia Senate from 2017 to 2023. In 2023, McClellan handily won a competitive special election for Congress and became the first Black woman in Virginia’s history to become a U.S. Representative. McClellan is a member of the powerful House Armed Services Committee and a champion of the the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) which would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination.

In this interview with Black Virginia News Rep. McClellan speaks on what the strategy might be for House Democrats during the 119th Congress as Democrats must face the challenge of being the minority in the House and Senate while Trump sits in the White House.

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AN INTERVIEW WITH VIRGINIA’S 58th SPEAKER DON SCOTT. Tomorrow, January 8, 2025, the Virginia General Assembly will convene at noon. This episode of the Black Virginia News podcast features Virginia’s 58th Speaker of the House of Delegates, Don Scott of Portsmouth, Virginia.

Twelve days out from the start of the second White House term of Donald Trump, the Virginia General Assembly begins its work with a divided government controlled by the Democrats on the legislative level and a Republican Governor, Glenn Youngkin.

But Youngkin is entering his last year in the governor’s mansion. What might Democrats and Republicans agree on during Youngkin’s last legislative session? Will Trump disrupt the economy of Virginia by relocated thousands of federal workers? What will Virginia do with a $3 billion surplus? Speaker Scott comments in this pre-session interview which was conducted on Jan. 7, 2025.

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EP41 - Winsome Sears, Youngkin and Trump in Salem, Virginia. On November 2, 2024, former President Donald Trump held a presidential campaign rally in Salem, Virginia.

Many are asking: Why? Virginia is not seen as being “in play” regarding the 2024 race for The White House between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump.

But there they were: Governor Glenn Youngkin, Lt. Governor Winsome Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares, among many other top Republicans in Virginia, in Salem only four days before Election Day.

Even more interesting: Only two years ago, Lt. Governor Sears was vocal about wanting to move on from the MAGA Trump era. Well, clearly there’s been a change of heart. As Sears ramps top an effort to run for Governor of Virginia in 2025, it’s now clear that she is ready to fully embrace Trump should he get a second term in office as president.

This episode of the Black Virginia podcast will re-visit where Sears was only two years ago and feature her remarks in Salem, Virginia on Nov. 3, 2024.

➡️ SUBSCRIBE TO BLACK VIRGINIA NEWS. “One had better die fighting against injustice than die like a dog or a rat in a trap.” —Ida Wells. 👨🏽‍💻 Send your press releases, submissions, tips, pitches, comments and corrections to [email protected]. 

EP39 - U.S. Supreme Court Ignores Federal Law, Allows Youngkin Vote Purge of Lawful Voters in Virginia. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the morning of Oct. 30, 2024 that Virginia could continue to purge voters from the rolls even though a federal law mandates there be no voter purges 90 days before an election. They provided no details as to their legal reasoning.

The three SCOTUS members who were nominated by Democrats, Associate Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson, voted against the decision to allow the vote purge to move forward.

When Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order on Aug. 7, 2024 focused on “protecting” the ballot, it was the beginning of a process that would lead to Virginia Election Commissioner Susan Beals removing over 1,600 individuals from the Virginia voter file. On Oct. 11, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Virginia over the removals. On Oct 25, U.S. Judge Patricia Giles ruled Youngkin’s voter purge in Virginia must cease.

Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares appealed the ruling to the Fourth District Court of Appeals and lost. He then appealed to the U.S Supreme Court. In a ruling on Oct. 30, the Republican members of the Court overturned the U.S. Court of Appeals and allowed the Youngkin voter purge to continue — ignoring federal law. Lawful voters caught up in the Youngkin vote purge appears not to be an issue for SCOTUS, Youngkin or Miyares.

➡️ SUBSCRIBE TO BLACK VIRGINIA NEWS. “One had better die fighting against injustice than die like a dog or a rat in a trap.” —Ida Wells. 👨🏽‍💻 Send your press releases, submissions, tips, pitches, comments and corrections to [email protected]. 

EP40 - Jeffries in Virginia. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries made stops in Suffolk, Virginia Beach and Prince William over the last five days in an effort to assist Democrats in close races that will decide control of the U.S. House of Representatives

The man who could be the next Speaker of the U.S. House if Democrats win back the majority, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, campaigned at three Black owned businesses in Suffolk, Virginia alongside Missy Cotter Smasal who is the Democratic nominee running against Republican incumbent Jen Kiggans.

On October 27 Jeffries stood alongside Speaker of the Virginia House Don Scott and others in support of Democrat Eugene Vindman in Virginia’s seventh congressional district.

➡️ SUBSCRIBE TO BLACK VIRGINIA NEWS. “One had better die fighting against injustice than die like a dog or a rat in a trap.” —Ida Wells. 👨🏽‍💻 Send your press releases, submissions, tips, pitches, comments and corrections to [email protected]. 

DAY 21 OF A PARTY IN CRISIS. ♟️ Who knew that the nominating process meant nothing when Biden received millions of votes during the 2024 primary season?

In a never before seen moment in American political history, a former President, a former Speaker of the House and Democratic party leaders of the U.S. House and Senate are urging the candidate of their party to abandon a presidential race less than 110 days before Election Day.

As Republicans begin the final day of their national convention in Milwaukee, Democrats are in meltdown over who their nominee will be for president. The party has now spent the last 21 days dismantling and discrediting their nominee for the presidency.

A bad debate performance three weeks ago by President Joe Biden on June 27 touched off a crisis inside the party. With the media in full wolf pack mode and senior leaders in the Democratic Party signaling Biden to exit the race for President, the competition for the White House in 2024 is at an unprecedented stage.

Lauren Victoria Burke discusses the crisis, the implications and what may happen next.

➡️ SUBSCRIBE TO BLACK VIRGINIA NEWS. “One had better die fighting against injustice than die like a dog or a rat in a trap.” —Ida Wells. 👨🏽‍💻 Send your press releases, submissions, tips, pitches, comments and corrections to [email protected]. 

EP37: Biden State of Play as Biden Goes on Offense. Lauren Burke and Paul Goldman discuss the current state of play as Democrats deal with the fallout of a June 27, 2024 debate in which their nominee for President, Joe Biden, appeared mentally confused and tired up against former President Trump. After 11 days of very public criticism from fellow Democrats, Biden and his team moved fast to get on offense.

With the support of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus, President Joe Biden mounted a strong response to his critics on a news packed July 8, 2024.

As Congress returns to session after the July 4 holiday, more is learned about the views of various members regarding Biden’s fate — including several members of the Virginia congressional delegation.

RELATED: Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and Congressional Black Caucus Backs Biden; Judge: C'Ville Racists Have to Pay Up

The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus stood in support of Biden along with the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman Don Beyer was in the news after a leadership call, Rep. Gerry Connolly has been on CNN saying the situation has to be dealt with this week and Senator Mark Warner has decided to not have a meeting with other Senators on Biden’s future as the Democratic nominee.

Lauren Burke and Richmond attorney Paul Goldman discuss the turmoil within the Democratic Party as they struggle to unite behind their presumptive nominee for president: President Joseph Biden.

➡️ SUBSCRIBE TO BLACK VIRGINIA NEWS. “One had better die fighting against injustice than die like a dog or a rat in a trap.” —Ida Wells. 👨🏽‍💻 Send your press releases, submissions, tips, pitches, comments and corrections to [email protected]. 

EP36: Joe Biden: Black Base is Ridin' with Biden Before a Make or Break Week. With only 120 days until election day and 43 days until the DNC Convention in Chicago, President Joe Biden’s presidential run for re-election is at a tipping point. As concerns about his mental ability to run an energetic campaign against former President Donald Trump, Biden is being challenged by members of his own party to leave the race.

This podcast will focus on how this moment arrived, what the state of play is currently and what is likely to happen next. It will also focus on the fact that mainstream media is ignoring the fact that the grassroots base of the Democratic Party — Black voters — are not interested in tossing President Biden aside as the Democratic nominee.

RELATED: At Essence, Black Democrats rally behind Biden and talk up Kamala Harris (AP, July 7, 2024)

But with control of the White House, U.S. House and U.S. Senate on the line, there is likely to be consequential news this week on the fate of Biden’s run for office.

With Virginia’s senior Senator Mark Warner and five members of the U.S. Congress publicly saying he should step aside, the second week of July 2024 will be consequential in the Democrats’ effort to stop former President Donald Trump from returning in to power.

➡️ SUBSCRIBE TO BLACK VIRGINIA NEWS. “One had better die fighting against injustice than die like a dog or a rat in a trap.” —Ida Wells. 👨🏽‍💻 Send your press releases, submissions, tips, pitches, comments and corrections to [email protected]. 

EP35: At a Trump get-out-the-vote rally in Chesapeake, Virginia on June 28, 2024, the Commonwealth’s 74th Governor, Glenn Youngkin, did what he avoided doing all 2021 long: He embraced Donald Trump’s MAGA movement.

Youngkin also embraced Trump’s dangerous rhetoric on a topic he rarely mentioned during his successful 2021 campaign as he defeated Terry McAuliffe: Immigration.

But in Chesapeake on June 28, Youngkin linked “illegal immigrants” to violent crimes — specifically murder and sexual violence. That specific language is a cornerstone of Trump’s racist play to incentivize white suburban voters.

The use of anecdotes to vilify million of people in an ethnic or racial group is not new. In the Republican Party in part built by Roger Ailes, who was an advisor to President Richard Nixon who would later create Fox News, the use of the southern strategy has become standard practice. Until June 28, 2024, Youngkin had avoided it. Now he has fully endorsed it. Will Youngkin say anything to become Trump’s Vice Presidential running mate?

➡️ SUBSCRIBE TO BLACK VIRGINIA NEWS. “One had better die fighting against injustice than die like a dog or a rat in a trap.” —Ida Wells. 👨🏽‍💻 Send your press releases, submissions, tips, pitches, comments and corrections to [email protected]. 

THE JUNE 18, 2024 PRIMARY. On episode 34 🎙️ of the Black Virginia News podcast Fergie Reid and Lauren Burke discuss their 5 takeaways after the June 18, 2024 primary in Virginia.

Republican Rep. Bob Good and State Senator John McGuire’s contest is so close they're still counting ballots. State Senator Suhas Subramanyan won over Del. Dan Helmer after a suspiciously timed and unproven allegation from 2018 targeted at Helmer in the last days of the primary campaign.

Attorney Leslie Mehta prevailed over retired Army Colonel Herb Jones. Eugene Vindman has a formidable opponent in Virginia’s 7th congressional district. The power of an under-reported community in Northern Virginia is also very noteworthy.

Also listen to Sam Shirazi on Pod Virginia give his take on the June 18 primary races.

➡️ SUBSCRIBE TO BLACK VIRGINIA NEWS. “One had better die fighting against injustice than die like a dog or a rat in a trap.” —Ida Wells. 👨🏽‍💻 Send your press releases, submissions, tips, pitches, comments and corrections to [email protected].