State lawmakers are set to return to the Capitol on Monday for what’s expected to be a contentious fight over congressional redistricting and a Virginia Supreme Court appointment. The fate of the governor’s high court selection is all but certain, but the final look at what Virginia’s new congressional boundaries will look like is less clear. Republican leaders of the GOP-controlled General Assembly plan to elect Rossie D. Alston Jr. Monday as a new justice on the Virginia Supreme Court. His election will remove Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s new appointment to the high court, Justice Jane Marum Roush, who took her spot on the bench at the beginning of this month. The judge fight has been all about politics, as both sides say Roush is a qualified candidate.
McAuliffe has accused GOP House Speaker William J. Howell and Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. of throwing a “political temper tantrum” because they feel the governor did not properly consult with them prior to picking Roush. And McAuliffe and other Democrats are accusing Republicans of trying to unseat Roush as part of an ongoing “war on women.” The Democratic Party of Virginia compared Howell and Norment to presidential hopeful Donald Trump, saying all three “put their misogyny on full display” recently.
Full Article: Contentious special session on redistricting ahead – The Washington Post.