The Rocket Caboose Confirms the Progressive Majority’s Real Priorities
By Ali Ahmad, Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment Over the last four years, I served as a senior aide to former Governor Glenn Youngkin, including as Policy Director and Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategy. One of my main roles was in support of the Governor’s weighty responsibility to review legislation sent to […]
The General Assembly’s 22.5% “Labor Tax” Gamble
As the Virginia General Assembly enters the final weeks of its 2026 session, a wave of new labor mandates is about to reach the Governor’s desk, two of which she has promised to sign, and one she seems inclined to support as well. House Bill 5 (Paid Sick Leave), Senate Bill 2 (Paid Family and Medical Leave), and House […]
House and Senate Budgets Propose No Major Tax or Spending Increases
The Senate and House of Delegates’ financial committees met on Sunday to approve competing sets of amendments to the next Virginia budget, neither proposing any general tax increases. The Senate version included modest tax reform: a small taxpayer rebate for this year and an increase in the income tax standard deduction. The Senate, however, allows […]
Supreme Court Restores the Rule of Law and, for a Moment, Increased Economic Freedom
The Supreme Court’s decision in Learning Resources v. Trump is a landmark reaffirmation of one of the Constitution’s most fundamental principles: the power to tax belongs to Congress alone. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution explicitly vests in the legislative branch the authority “to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.” Tariffs are taxes, and the Court […]
The Death of Fair Representation: Every Partisan-Drawn Map is an Insult, but Virginia’s is the Most Insulting
There is a difference between redistricting and rigging. One is a constitutional necessity. The other is political temptation. Right now, Virginia stands at the crossroads between the two. On April 21st the voters will decide which way we turn. Using current congressional delegation data and 2024 presidential vote totals, we can measure fairness in a straightforward way: compare a party’s statewide vote share in the last Presidential […]
Your Electricity Bill is the General Assembly’s New Favorite Piggy Bank
Key energy legislation poised to pass the 2026 General Assembly will increase your future electricity bills, not lower them. They will worsen price increases already caused by the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which passed the last time Virginia was under one party control. As the Assembly crosses its first deadline, with each chamber now able to […]
Democrats Vote to ‘Disenfranchise’ Rural Voters by Outsourcing Virginia’s Presidential Vote and Gerrymandering Its Congressional Map
In a dizzying display of power, the Democrats in the General Assembly voted this week to assign Virginia’s electoral college votes to the Presidential candidate who wins voter-dense urban and suburban areas in other states nationwide. They also voted to approve a gerrymandered congressional map that will give progressive and populous Northern Virginia control over five Virginia […]
Legislators Not Curious About Cost, Safety or Efficiency As Massive Battery Mandate Rushes Toward Approval
Today, a Senate committee is scheduled to take up the bill directing Virginia’s two investor-owned utilities to propose huge battery installations that will cover square miles of ground, cost ratepayers billions of dollars, and produce zero energy to power our homes and businesses. The bill has Governor Abigail Spanberger’s endorsement. So far, legislators have been in a “see, […]
The Virginian-Pilot: Federal Scholarship Tax Credits Should be a No-Brainer for Virginia
In today’s The Virginian-Pilot, Thomas Jefferson Institute Senior Advisor and Former President Chris Braunlich discusses Virginia’s participation in the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC) for K-12 students which, starting in 2027, will give taxpayers a dollar for dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for donations to scholarship programs offering students in public […]
The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy Appoints Ali Ahmad as Senior Visiting Fellow and LJ Brouillette as Associate Director of Development and Communications
Round Hill, VA, Feb. 5, 2026. The Thomas Jefferson Institute announced the following two appointments today: Ali Ahmad, Senior Visiting Fellow A lifelong Virginian and a graduate of the University of Virginia, Ali is a Senior Managing Director at PLUS Communications, located in Richmond, Virginia. He brings more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications, […]