We are now approaching one whole month since the government shutdown began as a result of Congress failing to fund legislation for 2026. For those who don’t have a reliance on the government monetarily, this isn’t a very big deal. However, there have been government employees and even those on welfare and other government benefits who are looking at not getting their money. In Virginia, Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency, looking to “protect the health, welfare, and safety of Virginians.”
The above video was posted to TikTok by jennilouwho, a woman who works for social services in Virginia. Social services cover a broad spectrum of services that include financial assistance, healthcare access, and so much more that some Virginians need to live their everyday lives. Unfortunately, because of the government shutdown, this means that those services have to be halted.
According to the above video, Governor Glenn Youngkin has officially declared a state of emergency within Virginia, having posted it on the state website, blaming Democrats. More specifically, the website says, “The State of Emergency allows the Governor to expend emergency funds under sum sufficient authority to protect the health, welfare and safety of Virginians.”
Commentators were more focused on the reasoning why the Governor was doing this, seeing as the Governor’s election race begins next month. One of the top comments talks about this, saying, “I also work for social services in VA processing SNAP/TANF/Medicaid cases. This was the talk of the office today, lol. I find it wildly inappropriate that he blamed Democrats in an official statement. Completely unnecessary and untrue.“
Other comments also make this same point, with another top comment saying, “i’m glad he’s made this decision for virginians, but very disappointed that he’s pointing the blame on democrats instead of blaming who’s really responsible for this mess.” Despite that being true, I am still grateful that the Governor is putting the interests of the people in need ahead of whatever their politics might need. At the end of the day, there are still people who require these services who come from different political backgrounds
Glenn Youngkin assumed office as the Governor of Virginia in 2022, championing initiatives like tax relief, improving public safety, and more. Now, he’s ensuring that those in need are continuing to get the help they so desperately need. However, because these sorts of benefits are different between each state, this only applies to the state of Virginia. Hopefully, this will change in the near future.
