Virginia Attorney General-Elect Names Transition Team
Virginia Attorney General-elect, Jay Jones, unveiled his transition team on Thursday, appointing former Democratic Governor Ralph Northam to lead the group.
Northam’s governorship, which came before Glenn Youngkin, was marred by controversy in 2019 when a right-leaning news outlet published a page from his medical school yearbook, showing an individual in blackface alongside someone wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood.
Announced as the likely co-chairman by Jones’ campaign, Northam, previously a pediatrician from Onancock, Virginia, brings significant political experience to the team.
Other notable members of the transition team include Pamela Northam, former Virginia Deputy Attorney General Cynthia Hudson, and Timothy Heaphy, a former Obama appointee who was also the chief investigative adviser for the House Select Committee on January 6th.
Additionally, the team features two Democratic law enforcement leaders: Richmond’s chief prosecutor and Newport News Sheriff Gabe Morgan. Jones’ campaign emphasized that the transition co-chairs are “distinguished and experienced leaders” committed to public safety and the welfare of Virginians.
In the wake of the blackface incident, Northam faced immense pressure to resign. Initially, he expressed remorse, stating that such actions contradicted who he is today and the values he has upheld in his career across military, medical, and public service fields. Yet later, his recollections shifted; he denied ever wearing a KKK costume or claimed he was “too drunk” to remember, ultimately admitting to darkening his face once to impersonate Michael Jackson.
Northam also caused a stir during a WTOP radio interview when he mentioned a scenario where a late-term baby could be “kept comfortable” while parents discussed options with doctors.
His remarks garnered sharp criticism from President Donald Trump, who claimed they indicated a willingness to “kill infants after birth.”
