A Virginia judge on Tuesday blocked three universities from recognizing Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R-VA) eight board appointees as board members, handing a win to state Democratic lawmakers who rejected the appointments last month.
Judge Jonathan Frieden, who serves on the Fairfax County Circuit Court, issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the University of Virginia, George Mason University, and the Virginia Military Institute from seating the rejected appointees on their boards. If allowed to serve, the chosen candidates would have represented conservative opposition to the institutions’ diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
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Among the governor’s appointees were former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and former Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick.
A state Senate committee rejected eight of Youngkin’s picks in June, arguing it had immediately ousted them. Youngkin’s office pushed back, saying the decision would not take effect until 30 days into the next General Assembly session in January 2026.
Both sides made their cases before Frieden last week. An attorney representing the committee argued that the legislative body had the authority to reject the appointees, while an attorney representing Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’s office contended that the committee could not do so without an entire General Assembly vote on the matter. The judge ruled in favor of the Virginia Democrats.
“The nullification of plaintiffs’ votes constitutes irreparable harm whether the disputed appointees’ continued service on the GMU, U.Va. and VMI boards would result in decisions with which the plaintiffs agreed or disagreed,” Frieden wrote, concluding the committee voted to reject the appointees on behalf of the entire state Senate.
“Accordingly, the Constitution of Virginia required the rejected appointees to immediately cease their participation on their respective boards,” he continued. “They have not done so. Instead, following the legal advice of the attorney general, the defendant rectors of the George Mason University and University of Virginia boards of visitors and president of the Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors have continued to recognize the rejected appointees as members of their respective governing boards. Moreover, they intend to continue to do so.”
Frieden, however, did give Miyares’s office until Wednesday morning to file a motion to stay the judgment and the opposing side until Wednesday evening to submit a response. The judge is expected to deliver his ruling on both arguments by Friday morning.
Also on Friday, George Mason’s board is scheduled to meet to discuss the university president’s job performance. President Gregory Washington is facing scrutiny from the Justice and Education departments over his support of DEI policies.
The Trump administration has targeted George Mason in recent weeks, alleging that the institution’s diversity programs are racially discriminatory. The federal government also successfully pushed University of Virginia President James Ryan to resign last month over similar reasons.
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Miyares spokesman Shaun Kenney said the attorney general’s office is “disappointed” in Tuesday’s order and plans to appeal it.
“This case is straightforward,” Kenney said. “The constitution is clear that it is the General Assembly, not a fraction of a Senate committee, that is authorized to act. We will quickly file an appeal with the Supreme Court of Virginia and are confident in our position.”