Virginia lawmakers buck Youngkin budget amendments in one-day session

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers addressed scores of legislative vetoes and amendments from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday, including the governor's 205 revisions to the state's budget bill that were decisively nixed by the Democratic-led General Assembly.

The one-day session in Richmond comes after Youngkin vetoed 158 bills that blocked Democrats’ attempts to reintroduce legislation nearly identical to what they proposed unsuccessfully last year. He also amended about 160 others.

Many of the governor's 205 amendments to the Virginia House budget bill would have trimmed the proposed state spending provisions approved in February in favor of adding $300 million in additional funds to Virginia’s coffers on top of nearly $295 million already slated to be set aside over the biennium.

Youngkin's edits, however, were largely rejected by Democrats wielding power in both chambers, who accepted just 33 of Youngkin's proposed budget revisions and scrapped the remaining amendments.

Youngkin also submitted eight line-item budget vetoes, six of which were sustained by lawmakers. Democratic House Speaker Don Scott ruled out of order Youngkin’s other two vetos, which would have upended funding for a manufactured home acquisition program and a mortgage assistance program.

In ignoring most of Youngkin's budget amendments, Democrats cemented their budget plans to lift a spending cap for public schools’ support services. They also staved off Youngkin's attempts to eliminate a $15 million amendment establishing a first-time homebuyer program.

Youngkin added a budget amendment authorizing the consideration of establishing Oak Hill, the home of former President James Monroe, as a state park. A House bill to that effect failed in the Senate during the session. But the House of Delegates nixed the governor's revision, effectively killing the project this budget cycle.

“We’re not going to allow the governor to basically shift money away from the priorities that Democrats had demonstrated when we passed the budget back in February,” Democratic Sen. Mamie Locke said late Wednesday to a group of reporters about the bill at large.

Senate Democrat Adam Ebbin added: “He may say it with a smile, but he’s got the same spirit as President Trump. Those were needless amendments.”

Lawmakers also addressed the governor's other legislative actions, though they did not override any of Youngkin's vetoes. Democrats, who have a thin majority in both chambers, needed a two-thirds supermajority to override Youngkin’s vetoes.

Lawmakers instead mainly spent Wednesday addressing the budget bill and amendments to other legislation, which they only needed a simple majority to act on. Now, Youngkin has about a month to review all remaining bills.

“Over the next 30 days I will review and take final action on the bills and budget amendments that have been sent back to my desk,” Youngkin said in a statement Wednesday. “Thank you again to the General Assembly members for their work throughout this legislative session.”

Lawmakers rejected Youngkin's amendment to a bill requiring the state to increase oversight on pharmacy benefits managers, which set the costs for prescription drugs. Youngkin proposed the issue be studied.

They also rejected his suggestion that a bill banning personal property taxes for the United Daughters of the Confederacy be taken up next year following a tax review.

Still, the governor gets the final say on any legislation that arrives at his desk for a signature after Wednesday.

Except in one instance: lawmakers can preemptively block Youngkin's say if they pass the bill in its original form with two-thirds support after rejecting the governor's amendments.

After rejecting Youngkin's amendments, House lawmakers took up this rare move for bills creating a women's menstrual health program, implementing a study on whether infertility treatments should be supported by health insurance and seeking equal pay for midwives' services. But the Senate did not seek such action, making the House's passage moot.

Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Del. Betsy Carr, D-Richmond, talks on the phone while the house is at ease Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Richmond, Va. (Margo Wagner /Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)

Del. Betsy Carr, D-Richmond, talks to Del. Shelly Simonds, D-Newport News, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Richmond, Va. (Margo Wagner /Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)

Del. Shelly Simonds, D-Newport News, talks to Del. Rae Cousins, D-Richmond, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Richmond, Va. (Margo Wagner /Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)

Sen. Christie New Craig, R-Chesapeake, looks towards a screen displaying vote results on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Richmond, Va. (Margo Wagner /Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)

Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, sits at his desk on the senate floor on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Richmond, Va. (Margo Wagner /Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)

Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William, looks towards a screen displaying vote results on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Richmond, Va. (Margo Wagner /Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)

House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, listens to announcements on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Richmond, Va. (Margo Wagner /Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)

Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Orange, talks to Del. Phillip Scott, R-Spotsylvania, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Richmond, Va. (Margo Wagner /Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)

Speaker of the House Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth talks to Gianni Snidle and Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Richmond, Va. (Margo Wagner /Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Middle East stock markets tumbled Monday as they struggled with the dual hit of the United States' new tariff policy and a sharp decline in oil prices, squeezing energy-producing nations that rely on those sales to power their economies and government spending.

Benchmark Brent crude is down by nearly 15% over the last five days of trading, with a barrel of oil costing just over $63. That’s down nearly 30% from a year ago, when a barrel cost over $90.

That cost per barrel is far lower than the estimated break-even price for Saudi Arabia and most other countries producing energy in the Middle East. That's coupled with the new tariffs, which saw the Gulf Cooperation Council states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates hit with 10% tariffs. Other Mideast nations face higher tariffs, like Iraq at 39% and Syria at 41%.

“With these measures and the expected retaliatory measures that could be adopted by other countries, the stability and predictability of international trade could be undermined,” the accounting firm PwC said in an advisory to its Mideast clients.

The Dubai Financial Market exchange fell 6% after it opened for the week, with market leader Emaar Properties down 9%. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange fell 4%.

Markets that opened Sunday saw losses as well. Saudi Arabia's Tadawul stock exchange fell over 6% in trading then, with further losses of 3% after opening Monday. The giant of the exchange, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco, fell over 5% on its own on Sunday, with more losses Monday, wiping away billions in market capitalization for the world's sixth-most-valuable company.

The drop in Aramco, whose shares also power Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's expansive plans to reshape the kingdom's economy, ties directly back to the overall price of oil.

Last week, OPEC+ members Algeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE agreed to speed up the introduction of more oil into the market. This month marks the first oil production increase by the group since 2022.

“OPEC+ has shifted its market management strategy from a steady incremental increase in output to monthly announced targets, bringing forward higher output levels for May this year,” an analysis published Monday by the state-majority-owned Emirates NBD Bank of Dubai said. “That will leave oil markets grasping with additional volatility as they assess the negative impact on global trade of the tariffs announced by the Trump administration.”

The Qatar Stock Exchange fell over 4% Sunday and a further 2% as trading resumed Monday. Boursa Kuwait fell over 5% on Sunday, with slight losses again Monday.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange fell rapidly Monday, with Islamabad facing 29% tariffs from the U.S. The exchange suspended trading for an hour after a 5% drop in its main KSE-30 index.

"We may face this situation until the uncertainty ends at the global market,” said Mohammed Sohail, the chief executive at Topline Securities.

Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said over the weekend that Islamabad will send a delegation to the United States soon to negotiate. The U.S. imports around $5 billion worth of textiles and other products from Pakistan, which heavily relies on loans from the International Monetary Fund and others.

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

A dejected investor waits to restart trading, which suspended for an hour following a 5% drop in in its main index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Stock brokers discuss the situation at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), after trading suspended for an hour following a 5% drop in in its main index, in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

An investor looks on indexes and benchmark 100 index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

A stock broker checks indexes and benchmark 100 index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

An investor takes a picture with a cell phone of indexes and benchmark 100 index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)