Heading into this year’s General Assembly Republicans had been battered at the polls. They were clinging to a single-vote majority that they won by by the luck of the draw. Now, one month in, Republican Speaker of the House Kirk Cox is upbeat.
At a GOP press conference Cox touted a number of Republican successes so far: reforming the adoption system, supporting workforce training, and fighting the opioid crisis.
"Honestly if you would have told me in December we would have accomplished this much in just the first half of the General Assembly session, I would have thought you were nuts,” he said.
Cox also said his relationship with Democratic Governor Ralph Northam has been productive, including comprises on regulatory reform and criminal justice. But he was tight lipped about the possible compromise at the forefront of everyone’s minds -- Medicaid expansion.
“We’ve had two productive conversations with the Governor on Medicaid,” Cox said. “As you know we’ve released all six principles that are very important to us, so we’re just going to have to see how those negotiations go.”
The next stage in those negotiations is the budget. The Republican-led finance committees unveil their proposals Sunday.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
