Jad Khalil

The University of Virginia has been caught up in the battle over higher education with the Trump administration on one side and Virginia Democrats on the other.

Its president resigned after what he called a pressure campaign, and Democratic legislators refused to confirm a number of former Governor Glenn Youngkin's appointments.

Three members of its governing board resigned Friday evening, just before a new governor, Democrat Abigail Spanberger, took office.

She had signaled she wanted a course change weeks after her election, and she did, appointing a majority of new members the same day she took office.

Spanberger also is ordering a review of how university boards are appointed.

She issued an executive order on the topic just after her swearing-in on Saturday.

For NPR News, I'm Jad Khalil in Richmond.

Spanberger's presence on the stage was a major departure from the 74 men that had been governors before her.

Virginia's economy is closely tied with that of the federal government, and tens of thousands of federal workers have lost their jobs recently.

Spanberger took note.

Spanberger comes into office with Democrats in control of the legislature, too.

For NPR News, I'm Jad Khalil in Richmond.

How amazing that will look.

Just flipping the moon over and seeing it from the other perspective.

Normally, a bipartisan independent commission redraws Virginia's districts after a census, but the Virginia Senate has now approved the text of a proposed constitutional amendment that would change who draws political maps and when.

If voters approve this amendment, it would allow the legislature to redraw congressional maps between each census in response to another state doing so.

That trigger has already happened in multiple states since President Trump first pressured Texas lawmakers to give Republicans an edge.

Virginia Democrats aren't showing maps, but some state senators have floated eliminating all but one Republican-leading seat.

Lawmakers say voters would see maps by the end of the month.

For NPR News, I'm Jad Khalil in Richmond.