Glenn Youngkin became the 74th governor of Virginia on January 15, 2022.
Inauguration
Youngkin was sworn in as governor on January 15, 2022. He took office alongside his Republican ticket mates, Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears, the first woman of color elected to statewide office in Virginia, and Attorney General Jason Miyares, the first Latino elected to statewide office in the state. The Washington Post called this ticket "historically diverse" and reported that it was a sign of "inroads" made by the Republican Party "in the African American and Latino communities." Former Democratic Governor of Virginia Douglas Wilder commented after the election that Republicans had "one-upped" Democrats with the historic achievement, which, he said, showed that Democrats "can't take the [Black] community for granted."
Youngkin was inaugurated two years into the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. His first week in office coincided with the January 14–17, 2022 North American winter storm. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the morning before his inauguration, Youngkin participated in a community service project at "the Reconciliation Statue along the Richmond Slave Trail in Shockoe Bottom, which was home to the second largest domestic slave market in the United States before the Civil War." Later that night, an inauguration eve party was held for Youngkin at the Omni Richmond Hotel. Another inauguration eve event for Youngkin was later held at the Science Museum of Virginia. On the night of his inauguration, Youngkin held a celebratory event at the Richmond Main Street Station.
The Washington Post wrote that Youngkin's inaugural address "delivered the blend of religious confidence and boardroom bravado that powered his victory", while The Associated Press characterized the address as one that carried "a tone of bipartisanship and optimism". The Washington Post noted that Youngkin used the address to criticize modern politics as "too toxic", but also wrote that, immediately after the address, Youngkin "stirred partisan rancor" by signing a series of polarizing executive actions. The publication noted that Youngkin's praise for the COVID-19 vaccine "fell flat with the largely mask-free crowd". Along with NPR, it reported that Youngkin's biggest applause was for a line about "removing politics from the classroom".
Day One executive actions
After his inauguration, Youngkin signed eleven executive actions. The first of these bans the teaching of what it calls "inherently divisive concepts" and identifies critical race theory as one such concept. While critical race theory has been widely discussed by teachers at workshops sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education, it has never been endorsed by the department or included in the state's public school curriculum. In his executive order, Youngkin characterized critical race theory and related concepts as "political indoctrination" that "instruct students to only view life through the lens of race and presumes that some students are consciously or unconsciously racist, sexist, or oppressive, and that other students are victims." Frederick Hess, education policy director at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, approved of the order as "sensible and thoughtful and well-written".
The Washington Post has noted that while critical race theory specifically refers to "an academic framework that examines how policies and laws perpetuate systemic racism in the United States", the term has been reappropriated by conservatives "as a catchall symbolizing schools’ equity and diversity work." Youngkin's stance on critical race theory has been condemned by leaders of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, and according to The Richmond Times-Dispatch, has "alarmed many educators" in the state. Youngkin's critics, the publication wrote, view the banning of critical race theory as an attempt to "whitewash" history and "erase black history".
Two of the executive actions signed by Youngkin on his first day in office rescinded COVID-19 regulations that had been enacted by the previous administration; one of these actions rescinded Virginia's statewide mask mandate for public schools and attempted to make compliance with local public school mask mandates optional; the other rescinded the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all state employees. Additionally, one of Youngkin's Day One executive orders called for a reevaluation of the workplace safety standards that had been adopted by the Northam administration as a protection against COVID-19.