Editor’s note: This is the third installment of a six-part series by pollster Brent Buchanan on the politics of the American South. Last week, Buchanan explored the shifting priorities of minority voters in the South — and why Democrats shouldn’t take those voters for granted. This week, he breaks down the unique features, and critical importance, of the Southern suburbs.
We hope you enjoy.
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Few things embody American culture and consumerism better than the suburbs.
Both a subject of generational aspiration and comedic ridicule, America’s suburbs remain a bridge to a nostalgic past and the ideal archetype of the “American Dream,” where home ownership, good schools, and safe neighborhoods still represent the opportunity of upward mobility and a prosperous future.
It&#8217;s fitting, then, with backyard barbecue season approaching, that, in part three of this series, we examine why the suburbs in America’s South have been politically stagnant.
While many of the country’s suburbs are rapidly shifting, voting behavior and partisanship in Southern suburbs are remarkably stable. This “stuck in neutral” dynamic is shaping the political battlegrounds of tomorrow — and it’s not necessarily a disadvantage for Republicans. If Democrats keep choosing the 20 percent side of 80/20 issues — like men in women’s sports, deporting illegals, or prioritizing the rights of nefarious illegal immigrants over crime victims — they’ll lose votes to Republicans or drive their own voters to stay home in the 2026 midterm elections.
That would be good news for Republicans. But our analysis of the South suggests its suburbs are much more hardened than its northern or western counterparts. Too often, mostly on Election Night, pundits and analysts rush to describe the country’s suburbs as hotly contested areas with high concentrations of swing voters.
While this is true for suburban pockets elsewhere in America, it is not the case in the South.
“As we mentioned in part one of this series, when we described the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-rise-of-the-south-is-not-what-you-think-why-it-holds-the-keys-to-political-control" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sweet Tea Suburbs</a>, their inelasticity reflects a unique dynamic that poses a significant challenge for Republicans,” says Nicholas Valdiviez, Cygnal’s Sampling Lead for this exclusive Daily Wire project. “The GOP could seek to strengthen its performance in other areas to offset suburban stagnation, or they could try to crack through some of these areas, though the payoff would be incremental and likely extend beyond 2026.”
<h3>The Faux South: A Case Study in Suburban Inelasticity</h3>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-911457" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-The-Faux-South-1.png" alt="" width="690" height="535" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-The-Faux-South-1.png 690w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-The-Faux-South-1-300x233.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px" /></div>
The word faux is not used as a negative slight toward any of the great people or communities of this region, nor to detract from their “southernness.” In fact, as an important descriptor for this far-reaching analysis of America’s South, the term illustrates the region’s distinct and historically vital role as a sprawling gateway to the southern heartlands shaped more by commerce and trade routes than agriculture, combined with its geographical position along the borderlands of our nation’s capital.
Voters here, especially in Virginia, will tell you they are absolutely Southern — with the exception of those hard-left-leaning folks living in the DC-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) nexus along the Potomac River. Surrounding the ineffectual machinations of DC, the Faux South covers all of Maryland, most of West Virginia through the Alleghany Mountains, throughout middle and southeastern Virginia, extending down to coastal and near-inland North Carolina.
From 2016 to 2020, the Faux South saw the largest surge in Democratic turnout in the Southern United States — a 48% increase — but Republican turnout also jumped by 27%, marking the biggest regional year-over-year turnout shift in the last 16 years. At face value, that would signal some tailwinds for Republicans as the Faux South mixes most frequently with the Trumpian Highlands, another southern transitionary region. But it is the presence of the Sweet Tea Suburbs that serves as a sort of counteractive ingredient to such tailwinds.
Examining Virginia and North Carolina as the dominant states of the Faux South, we measured a strong voter disenfranchisement for elected officials at all levels, more than any other region in the South. Even our latest National Voter Trends (NVT) <a href="https://www.cygn.al/poll-democrats-continue-to-struggle-as-trump-maintains-strong-approval-even-in-light-of-tariffs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> bears this out: voters in this region had high mistrust of their elected officials from local positions like mayor and city council up to their Member of Congress. The Faux South’s approval of their congressional representatives falls nearly four standard deviations below the average (18-point approval vs. the average of 29%, or the high of 36%). Even approval of their state legislators is 10 points below the average, and five points below the average of mayors and/or village presidents.
While the numbers are net positive in our latest NVT and across all regions in the South, they&#8217;re markedly lower here than in the other regions. And despite surges in turnout, this sentiment influences how voters in the Faux South differ from the other regions’ more rightward leanings, making them more likely to disengage altogether or maintain the status quo.
Yet, as entrenched as this region can be, there are some silver linings for Republicans. Since Virginia governors are limited to two nonconsecutive terms, Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears shows the most <a href="https://www.cygn.al/virginia-governor-race-poll-sears-positioned-for-strong-showing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">promising </a>signs to galvanize a broad base of support and carry on the progress of widely popular outgoing Governor Glenn Youngkin. How the battles for Republican control of state legislative seats, particularly in suburban districts, with Sears atop the ticket, will indicate how well Republicans have begun to crack the Faux South.
North Carolina is a tougher story for Republicans. Though the state saw a shift rightward from 2020 to 2024, the tension lies in this portion of the Faux South’s proximity to the Sweet Tea Suburbs. The &#8220;Research Triangle,&#8221; the area between Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, is central to scattered pockets of Sweet Tea Suburbs, which we described earlier as nearly immovable (split in 2020 and only R+3 in 2024), upper middle-class neighborhoods with high economic mobility. The confluence of these regions, combined with large areas of Trumpian Highlands in the western parts of the state, makes North Carolina more resistant to significant Republican gains.
<h3>Influence of Cities</h3>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-911459" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-part-III-four-cities-652x576.png" alt="" width="652" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-part-III-four-cities-652x576.png 652w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-part-III-four-cities-300x265.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-part-III-four-cities-768x678.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-part-III-four-cities.png 798w" sizes="(max-width: 652px) 100vw, 652px" /></div>
The overall trend remains one of inelasticity, with only a modest Republican recovery and little evidence of the dramatic swings seen elsewhere. But the hardening of the South&#8217;s suburbs is also heavily influenced by the region&#8217;s cities. Some are burgeoning hubs of economic revitalization, while others are still stuck in neutral themselves and struggle to keep pace with the South’s rising political prominence.
The most salient point to describe the odd relationship between Southern cities and suburbs is that voters in the ‘burbs tend to be more woke and believe in Leftist virtue signaling as a way to prove their solidarity with the more economically-stratified and depressed conditions of largely-minority city dwellers. &#8220;Normies,&#8221; as Ben Shapiro might call them, chalk this up to the same old political pandering we’ve seen from highly educated suburbanite Democrats. But the political symbiosis of Southern cities and many of their surrounding suburbs has created a concrete structure for social and political acceptance of the status quo.
Compounding this disjointed interdependency is the high rate of disenfranchisement among city dwellers, especially among minority voters, who tend to view these strongholds of Democratic leadership as a matter of course — years of broken and empty promises have led less to an embrace of Republicans and more to full-on disengagement. Contrast this with cities like Chicago, where more minority communities are starting to push back against entrenched and corrupt Democratic leadership.
What makes so many of the South’s suburbs hardened to political swings, especially in Republicans’ favor, is this symbiotic relationship with many of its cities.
In recent elections, we saw the opposite happen in northern states like Ohio, where suburbs like those outside Columbus and Cleveland helped turn that state from a closely-watched swing state in presidential election years to a reliably red state. Southern cities like Memphis, meanwhile, mix heavily with the Big Sky South and Soulful South, keeping it politically stagnant and resistant to major partisan shifts.
We see something similar in Huntsville, where explosive population and economic growth have made the area more influential within Alabama. With a heavy dose of Trumpian Highlands to mix with, the surrounding suburbs continue to reflect consistent voting patterns year after year.
Similarly, Birmingham and Charleston’s suburbs have not experienced significant partisan shifts. Even as their urban cores evolve, their suburbs have not experienced significant political swings, despite some of the prevailing Soulful South trends we noted in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-end-of-democratic-assumptions-how-minority-voters-are-reshaping-southern-politics?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Brent+Buchanan&amp;category=News+and+Analysis&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=The+End+of+Democratic+Assumptions%3A+How+Minority+Voters+Are+Reshaping+Southern+Politics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">part two</a> of this series.
This persistent inelasticity underscores how deeply-rooted disenfranchisement and longstanding racial and cultural undercurrents keep these Southern cities and their surrounding suburbs in a perpetual state of tension, making them the most resistant to the nationwide political and generational realignment that has accelerated in the Trump era.
For Republicans, the challenge is to find incremental gains in both the suburbs and cities or look beyond these gridlocked areas for more growth in regions like the Big Hat Bloc or among the Republican Resettlers. In those two regions, <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2023/12/07/hispanics-in-the-rio-grande-valley-are-now-swing-voters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hispanic populations</a> in particular are ripe for additional Republican gains.
For Democrats, the risk of alienating moderate voters or encouraging disengagement is more real than ever. If they continue to champion positions out of step with the suburban mainstream, Republicans can capitalize. This gives credence to the strategy of letting your opponents make unforced errors.
As the South continues to grow in population and political influence, the lesson is clear: state lines and national narratives rarely capture the true dynamics at play. The inelasticity of Southern suburbs is less a sign of stagnation than a testament to the encroaching fallout from the national political realignment.
COMING UP NEXT: All eyes are on Georgia and North Carolina ahead of the 2026 midterms. As two of the most prominent Democratic holdouts in the South, parts four and five of this series will delve into the extent of their influence and whether they’ll remain regional hegemons or embrace the coming red wave of longstanding conservative control.

Neat line of suburban houses in Fairfax, Virginia

Beyond The Swing: Why Southern Suburbs Refuse To Budge 

2026 Midterms

Glenn Youngkin

Suburbs

Virginia

Voting

Washington D.C.

If you talk to any experienced and honest teacher these days, from elementary school on up, one of the first things they will tell you is how quickly gender ideology has taken hold. Virtually overnight, students began adopting fake pronouns and made-up genders.
To call this phenomenon &#8220;unnatural&#8221; would be a vast understatement. It&#8217;s obviously engineered. Teachers and school boards are pushing this nonsense on children who are far too young to know any better. The public school system has committed itself to indoctrinating children, in many cases without their parents&#8217; knowledge or consent. But after what happened yesterday at the Supreme Court, it&#8217;s very clear that accountability is finally coming for these ghouls.
After many years of spewing LGBT propaganda with total impunity, school districts will soon face major new restrictions on their ability to pollute the minds of elementary-school-age children. Based on how the justices acted during oral arguments yesterday, “Mahmoud v. Taylor” could easily turn out to be one of the most significant Supreme Court rulings of this generation.
Before we review the oral arguments, here is some background. The case began after Montgomery County Public Schools, the largest school district in Maryland — introduced a new &#8220;gender and sexuality curriculum.&#8221; Initially, students (or their parents) could opt out of this curriculum for any reason. But after a short period of time, the school district claimed that it wasn&#8217;t feasible to continue allowing opt outs. So it&#8217;s mandatory now. To give you an idea of what exactly this curriculum entails, here&#8217;s an image from one book that children are introduced to.
<div id="attachment_911559" style="width: 690px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-911559" class="wp-image-911559 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GpJWV7kX0AE7j3U.jpeg" alt="Screenshot: What Are Your Words?" width="680" height="446" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GpJWV7kX0AE7j3U.jpeg 680w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GpJWV7kX0AE7j3U-300x197.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" />Screenshot: What Are Your Words?</div>
This is what&#8217;s apparently known as an &#8220;LGBT storybook.&#8221; This one&#8217;s called, “What Are Your Words?” As you can see, one line of dialogue reads, “My pronouns are like the weather. They change depending on how I feel.”
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is a nonprofit, reported on some other books that were included in this <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/will-scotus-back-parents-when-it-comes-to-lgbtq-storybooks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new curriculum</a>:
<blockquote>[O]ne book tasks three and four-year-olds to search for images from a word list that includes &#8216;intersex flag,&#8217; &#8216;drag queen,&#8217; &#8216;underwear,&#8217; &#8216;leather,&#8217; and the name of a celebrated LGBTQ activist and sex worker. Another book advocates a child-knows-best approach to gender transitioning, telling students that a decision to transition doesn’t have to &#8216;make sense.&#8217; Teachers are instructed to say doctors only &#8216;guess&#8217; when identifying a newborn’s sex anyway.</blockquote>
When parents of varying religious faiths — including Muslims and Christians — objected to the idea that their 5-year-olds needed to be taught about &#8220;sex work&#8221; and &#8220;gender transitioning&#8221; by Left-wing activists posing as teachers, the school district told them they had no recourse. In fact, the district slandered the parents as bigots. All these parents were seeking was the ability to opt out of this indoctrination. They didn&#8217;t even demand that the classes be removed from the curriculum. But the school district denied their request. So the parents sued.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mws-ep-1581-member-exclusive?elementPosition=3&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h3>
Which brings us to yesterday&#8217;s oral arguments. I want to begin with this question from Justice Alito, because it gets to the core of the issue. Alito wants to know why the school district is so hell-bent on forcing children to read books about homosexuality, transgenderism and so on. (To be clear, that&#8217;s what the school district is doing. They&#8217;re not merely providing these books in the school library. Teachers are actively telling students to read the books as part of class.) The truthful answer to Justice Alito&#8217;s question is simple: The Left understands that, if the LGBT movement is going to survive, it needs to indoctrinate new members at a very young age.
But the school district can&#8217;t say that out loud, of course. So instead, the lawyer representing the Montgomery school district&#8217;s superintendent, a man named Alan Schoenfeld, starts talking in circles about how impossible it would be, at a practical level, for the school district to allow students to opt out of this curriculum. But nothing he says actually makes sense. It gets so bad that, at the end of his rambling non-answer, Justice Kavanaugh chimes in to confirm that indeed, no one has any idea what the hell this guy is talking about. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="005 alito, whats the big deal" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q118nmS1g2s?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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As best I can tell, the lawyer for the school district is claiming that, because students might talk among themselves about certain LGBT books that are discussed in this curriculum, it&#8217;s therefore impossible to allow students to opt out of this kind of curriculum. In other words, whether or not students opt out, there&#8217;s a chance that they&#8217;ll hear about the materials that are discussed in these gay adventure books.
But this ignores a couple of obvious points.The big one is that, when a teacher is communicating a lesson to a class, it has a very different effect, as compared to one student talking to another student about a book during recess or whatever. The teacher is in a position of authority. It&#8217;s much easier for a 5-year-old to discount something another 5-year-old says, than it is to discount the wisdom of a 40-year-old teacher he&#8217;s told to trust. If this is an argument for anything, it&#8217;s an argument for not having these materials in the school to begin with. Which of course is the correct answer. But either way, it is not an argument against allowing parents to opt out.
The lawyer for the school district knows this but he can&#8217;t admit it. So he ends up confusing everyone in the room with a bunch of doublespeak. This kept happening throughout the oral arguments. Listen to this moment where Justice Gorsuch points out that, in Montgomery County, teachers are told to actively correct students who dare to suggest that men can&#8217;t become women. Gorsuch then asks the lawyer for Montgomery County whether this could constitute &#8220;coercion.&#8221; The obvious answer is yes. But instead of saying that, here&#8217;s the gibberish that the attorney comes back with:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="006 gorsuch, coercion, correcting himself" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x3sWOLDR4Q0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Justice Gorsuch gives an example where a student says, &#8220;a boy can&#8217;t be a girl.&#8221; And then the lawyer states that it&#8217;s not &#8220;coercive,&#8221; in any way, for the teacher to correct the student&#8217;s comment, in front of the entire class. He then changes his mind and says the opposite.
Even when he&#8217;s not contradicting himself, the school district&#8217;s lawyer managed to make a mockery of the entire case. 
Here&#8217;s his opening statement, for example:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="007 beginning with mr shonfeld" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xkw27dw9T5g?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Yes, according to this attorney for the school district, there&#8217;s no difference between teaching elementary-school students about wars, and teaching them that boys can become girls. Telling students about the War of 1812 is just like telling them that it&#8217;s totally reasonable to chemically castrate minors.
One of the ways we know this isn&#8217;t true, aside from using basic common sense, is that there&#8217;s no army of parents demanding that schools stop teaching students about wars. That&#8217;s because it&#8217;s understood that teaching students about wars is not a general endorsement of violence. Additionally, everyone agrees that history is important and useful because it&#8217;s grounded in reality. On the other hand, gender ideology is just that — ideological.
This lawyer was not the only person to embarrass himself yesterday. That&#8217;s a given. After all, Ketanji Brown Jackson was also in attendance at the hearing. And as you&#8217;d expect, she did not disappoint. Single-handedly, she dropped the collective IQ in the room by about 10 points, just by opening her mouth. And of course, she opened her mouth on the side of indoctrinating children, because she takes the Left&#8217;s position on every issue. Behold, Ketanji Brown Jackson&#8217;s argument in favor of mandatory indoctrination in public schools:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="008 can just go to private school" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y-FJrhGbwrw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Yes, you can homeschool, says Ketanji Brown Jackson. You can pay for an expensive private school. Therefore, there&#8217;s no &#8220;burden&#8221; on these parents, apparently. It&#8217;s not a &#8220;burden&#8221; to have to pay more money, and change your child&#8217;s school, because Montgomery County decided to teach LGBT propaganda. And then the lawyer representing the parents responds, and points out that she&#8217;s completely wrong, and many other cases demonstrate why she&#8217;s wrong. And then she goes quiet and they move on.
Here’s one more clip from these arguments, involving Justice Alito questioning the school board&#8217;s lawyer. He follows up on this logic, about how the parents can supposedly just go to a private school. He begins by talking from the perspective of one of these parents:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="009 alito, too bad" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hgRo17KtvU8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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This is what it looks like in the Supreme Court when &#8220;sparks fly,&#8221; so to speak. Alito is making his disdain for the school district&#8217;s argument extremely clear, which is exactly what he should do. They&#8217;re trying to force-feed gender ideology to children, and instead of owning it, they&#8217;re lying and telling the parents to pay more money to find a private school that won&#8217;t interfere with their religious liberties. But the Constitution doesn&#8217;t work that way. And it appears the Montgomery County school district, and school districts all over the country, are about to discover that.
This is not a close case. That&#8217;s why even the far-Left outlet Vox <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250422191725/https://www.vox.com/scotus/409921/supreme-court-dont-say-gay-mahmoud-taylor">reported</a>: 
<blockquote>The Supreme Court’s &#8216;Don’t Say Gay&#8217; argument went disastrously for public schools.</blockquote>
At the moment, the most likely outcome is that, when very young children are involved, parents will retain the right to opt out of curriculums involving gender ideology, or any other extreme ideology that conflicts with their established religion. Everyone can see this coming.
And just to underscore that, yesterday Randi Weingarten, the head of one of the largest teachers&#8217; unions in the country, went on Fox News. And she admitted, right away, that she wouldn&#8217;t read these books in the classroom. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="010 Randi" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/luc0jWbW_HA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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We all know that Randi Weingarten isn&#8217;t saying this because she believes it. She&#8217;s maybe the most calculating political operative in the country, after Nancy Pelosi. But Weingarten understands when the Left is overplaying its hand. She knows that they&#8217;re on the cusp of yet another crushing defeat in their efforts to indoctrinate children, and she&#8217;s trying to soften that blow when it inevitably comes.
Unfortunately for Weingarten, the truth is, there&#8217;s no way to accomplish that. Gender ideology and LGBT activists, as we&#8217;ve discussed many times, are now extremely unpopular. They have alienated the entire country, to the point that they may have cost Democrats the last election. The only way an ideology like this can survive is by targeting children before they&#8217;re able to develop their cognitive abilities. That&#8217;s their only viable play. And in a few short months, after this case is inevitably decided against the public school system of Montgomery County, it&#8217;ll be much, much harder for these people to accomplish that.

Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Parental Rights Regarding LGBTQ Books In Schools

The Lawyers Promoting Child Indoctrination To SCOTUS Were Absolutely Humiliated

Books

Brett Kavanaugh

Children's Books

Education

Elementary Schools

gender ideology

Ketanji Brown Jackson

LGBTQ

Matt Walsh

Neil Gorsuch

Opinion

Parents rights

Samuel Alito

SCOTUS

Supreme Court

The budget chair of a beleaguered $4 billion school system spent years pulling off a premeditated con to steal two airplanes worth $1.5 million, a new lawsuit filing alleges.
Kyle McDaniel, a member of Virginia&#8217;s Fairfax County School Board, was accused by his private-sector employer of using corporate credit cards to spend $150,000 on personal expenses, strip clubs, and his school board campaign, according to a lawsuit first reported by The Daily Wire earlier this month.
Now, that employer, Blue Label Aviation, added in <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25903024-kylemcdanielamended/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">court documents obtained</a> by The Daily Wire that it has since discovered that McDaniel’s alleged fraud was significantly worse. It outlined methodical, years-long financial fraud that raises questions about how the all-Democrat school board could continue to let McDaniel oversee the finances of one of America’s largest school systems.
FCPS this month resorted to enlisting children to beg for more money, telling them the school system is in a <a href="https://www.fcps.edu/news/fcps-superintendent-warns-students-possible-cuts-budget-deadline-looms">financial crisis</a>, has already cut all non-essential services, and that if the county doesn’t steer unprecedented amounts of money to the schools, children will suffer. It gave them an activist <a href="https://www.fcps.edu/crossroads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“toolkit”</a> to pressure the leaders who disburse funding to the school system.
The amended complaint said that McDaniel owned an aviation company called Commonwealth Aviation Services. In March 2023, McDaniel struck a deal with the owner of another company, Aero Elite, to merge them into a new company called Blue Label. Virtually all of Commonwealth’s value came from the fact that it owned two planes, leading it to be valued at $1.5 million for purposes of the merger. But just before the deal went through, McDaniel secretly stripped its assets, changing the ownership of the planes to a different entity and essentially selling Blue Label an empty shell, the complaint says.
“As a direct and proximate result of McDaniel’s fraud in the inducement, the shareholders of Aero Elite, now shareholders of the Plaintiff, were duped into issuing stock to McDaniel and his father for essentially nothing, and the plaintiff was therefore damaged in the amount of $1,500,000.00,” the amended complaint said.
“McDaniel made fraudulent misrepresentations about the ownership of the aircraft which was a material fact and formed the basis of the merger. McDaniel secretly re-registered the aircraft into phony companies while negotiating the terms of the merger, knowing that the FAA registration process would take many months to complete and be listed on the FAA registry,” it continued.
Just before the deal went through, McDaniel used the Federal Aviation Administration&#8217;s database to re-register two Piper Archer airplanes to entities called N1463T LLC and N555AZ LLC – companies that did not even exist, it said. More than a year later, after Blue Label executives confronted McDaniel for separately allegedly using his corporate credit cards for huge sums of personal luxuries, McDaniel retroactively formed the LLCs “to match the names of the phony entities that he had registered the said aircraft to” and “listed his home address as the registered address.”
According to Virginia records, the LLCs were incorporated on February 9, 2025, shortly before the lawsuit was filed and just after Blue Label CEO Timothy Fisher confronted McDaniel on January 22, at which point &#8220;the defendant confessed&#8221; and said he &#8220;wanted a week&#8221; to have a lawyer review whether he would accept Fisher&#8217;s demands that he resign and turn over his corporate credit cards.
“McDaniel then started attempting to sell the aircraft to unknowing third parties. McDaniel’s actions constitute multiple acts of fraud, conversion of company assets and fraudulent misrepresentations,” it said.
Last week, Blue Label made a motion for a temporary injunction preventing McDaniel “from selling, transferring, conveying, re-registering, pledging, or encumbering the aircraft assets until a trial.”
<div id="attachment_903623" style="width: 877px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-903623" class="size-large wp-image-903623" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/mcdaniel2-867x576.jpg" alt="Kyle McDaniel" width="867" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/mcdaniel2-867x576.jpg 867w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/mcdaniel2-300x199.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/mcdaniel2-768x510.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/mcdaniel2.jpg 1030w" sizes="(max-width: 867px) 100vw, 867px" />Kyle McDaniel</div>
McDaniel ran with the endorsement from the Democratic Party, which he secured after claiming to be bisexual and attracting an early endorsement by a gay-rights group — despite being married to a woman and having children. He previously positioned himself as a Republican, and also knocked a Republican off the school board by running as an &#8220;independent,&#8221; serving as a spoiler.
He told voters that his aviation work was directly relevant to the school board job, answering the question, “Why should voters trust you?” with, “In my career field, aviation, there is zero tolerance for dishonesty because it can get people hurt. I bring this same approach to public service: I do not tolerate dishonesty.” He did not return a request for comment for this story.
McDaniel is an at-large member of the school board, representing 1.6 million people — twice as many as a congressman. He came in third in the race for three at-large seats in 2023.
Saundra Davis, a Republican now running for the Virginia House of Delegates, came in fourth in the school board race, meaning she would have been on the school board if McDaniel were not in the race. Davis told The Daily Wire that “it’s clear that this situation goes far beyond a personal or business dispute. If the details are accurate, they indicate a deliberate effort to mislead others in a high-stakes transaction, which is deeply troubling.&#8221;
She said one-party rule gave rise to a lack of accountability.
&#8220;At a minimum, Kyle McDaniel should be removed as chair of the $4 billion Fairfax County public school budget committee — though I’m not holding my breath, she said. “It is imperative that voters in Fairfax County begin to apply logic over emotion when choosing their elected officials. Blindly voting straight down a sample ballot is not the path to meaningful change in our county.”
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fairfax-school-board-member-embezzled-strip-clubs">initial lawsuit</a> said McDaniel was repeatedly caught billing personal expenses totaling more than $150,000 to his corporate credit card, including a local strip club, a strip club in New Orleans — where the school board traveled for a National School Board Association conference — and campaign expenses.
It said McDaniel confessed and repaid part of the funds, then did it again, only to admit it again and then do it again. The company’s board met to approve his resignation, but McDaniel refused to cooperate with removing his name from corporate bank accounts, the suit said. McDaniel also deleted all of his work emails and performed other “suspicious activity,” it added.

Kyle McDaniel / X

School Board Budget Chair Accused Of Scheming To Steal $1.5M Airplanes As District Pleads Poverty

A school board member for one of the largest school districts in America allegedly embezzled $175,000 from a company where he worked, and spent the money on luxuries, including strip clubs, as well as to subsidize his campaign for office, a lawsuit alleges.
Democrat Kyle McDaniel is the budget chair for Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools (FCPS), which has a $4 billion budget.
A previously-unreported <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25880075-kyle-mcdaniel-lawsuit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> filed March 13 in Loudoun County court by his employer, flight school Blue Label Aviation, said that McDaniel abused his position as Secretary and Treasurer of the company, with access to its credit cards and bank accounts, to charge “personal expenses related to to personal travel, meals, entertainment and even expenses related to the defendant’s political campaign for the Fairfax County School Board.”
In June 2024, Blue Label’s CEO, Timothy Fischer, confronted him about $120,000 in improper charges, and “the defendant confessed and agreed to pay back the misappropriated funds,” ultimately paying back $50,000.
But in December 2024, Fischer “discovered that, not only had the defendant not ceased misappropriating the company’s funds for his personal use, he had vastly expanded his use of the company’s credit cards and bank accounts for his personal expenses,” charging $160,000 “for everything from vacations with his family, to meals, charges at a local strip club and a strip club in New Orleans, groceries and personal household expenses.”
The Fairfax County School Board <a href="https://community.nsba.org/events/event-description?CalendarEventKey=e3072f16-d5d0-4c4d-b1ed-018796089e8e&amp;Home=%2Fhome" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traveled to New Orleans</a> in April of that year to attend the National School Board Association conference, with expenses reimbursed by taxpayers.
On January 22, McDaniel was confronted and allegedly confessed again, and Fischer gave him the opportunity to resign without paying the money back in exchange for relinquishing his shares in the company and turning over its credit cards, the lawsuit said. McDaniel said he wanted time to consult a lawyer, but within days, Fischer allegedly saw even more unauthorized charges, and terminated him. “Fischer thereafter continued to observe that new, non-business-related charges were being made to the company credit card,” it said.
The company’s board met to approve his resignation, but McDaniel refused to cooperate with removing his name from corporate bank accounts, the suit said. McDaniel also deleted all of his work emails and performed other “suspicious activity,” it added.
The suit alleges embezzlement and misappropriation and says the company &#8220;has been injured in the amount of&#8221; $175,000. It seeks that amount, as well as punitive damages of $350,000, on top of requiring him to turn over his corporate credit cards and remove himself from its bank accounts.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-903623" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/mcdaniel2-867x576.jpg" alt="Kyle McDaniel" width="867" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/mcdaniel2-867x576.jpg 867w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/mcdaniel2-300x199.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/mcdaniel2-768x510.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/mcdaniel2.jpg 1030w" sizes="(max-width: 867px) 100vw, 867px" /></div>
The lawsuit said that McDaniel had owned a company called Commonwealth Aviation, which in March 2023 became a subsidiary of Blue Label. According to <a href="https://www.vpap.org/candidates/332131/top_donors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">campaign finance</a> records, Commonwealth Aviation was his school board campaign’s third-highest funder, at $15,369, all spent during or after March 2023.
McDaniel did not return a request for comment.
McDaniel won an election representing the entire 1.4 million-person county as an at-large member on the all-Democrat board. His school board <a href="https://www.fcps.edu/staff/kyle-mcdaniel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bio</a> says: “Kyle McDaniel (he/him) began his term as a Member At-Large on January 1, 2024 … [He] started two companies with his family. As a result of the COVID pandemic, both companies were closed in early 2020. With a newborn at home, he quickly pivoted to aviation and became a professional pilot.”
McDaniel, a white man who is married with children, was elected with help from a national group, the LGBTQ Victory Fund, after claiming he is <a href="https://watermarkonline.com/2023/11/06/more-than-a-dozen-lgbtq-candidates-are-on-the-ballot-in-virginia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bisexual</a>.
His top donor was the Democratic Party, and his second-highest donor was school board chair <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/school-board-member-sworn-in-on-stack-of-gay-porn-instead-of-bible" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karl Frisch</a>, a gay man with no children who held a campaign fundraiser at a drag show, followed hardcore pornography accounts on social media, and was sworn in on a copy of &#8220;Gender Queer&#8221; instead of a Bible.
McDaniel chairs the school board&#8217;s budget committee. The Fairfax County government is facing a $300 million budget shortfall after FCPS spent nearly <a href="https://www.fairus.org/blog/2024/06/03/fairfax-county-virginia-public-schools-limited-english-proficiency-and-opportunity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$142 million</a> on English as a Second Language in 2024.
This story has been updated.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginias-largest-school-district-put-a-kink-affirming-bondage-specialist-in-charge-of-reviewing-parent-complaints-about-books">Virginia’s Largest School District Put A ‘Kink-Affirming’ Bondage Specialist In Charge Of Reviewing Parent Complaints About Books</a>

Fairfax County School Board Member Embezzled Corporate Funds For Strip Clubs And Campaign, Lawsuit Says

Courts

Lawsuit

U.S.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin used his veto power to send a bill back to the Democrat-controlled legislature with a clever change.
The legislature last month passed a bill introduced by State Delegate Laura Jane Cohen (D-Fairfax), a far-left former school board member, requiring schools to text and email parents each school year, admonishing them to lock up any guns they own. Youngkin added a provision that would require schools to also communicate with parents before transitioning a child to a different gender.
Democrats previously voted down a similar bill, but now they will have to vote whether to accept or reject the edit, potentially putting them on the record in an election year that they oppose parental involvement in the most intimate aspect of their child’s life. Virginia holds elections in odd-numbered years, and Democrat Terry McAuliffe lost the election to Youngkin in 2019 after saying he didn’t believe parents should play a role in what goes on in schools.
Youngkin sailed to victory after lashing out at Loudoun County Public Schools for covering up a rape by a “genderfluid” boy in order to pass a transgender bathroom policy. 
<a href="https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1046364.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cohen’s bill</a> required school boards to “require the notification of the parent of each student enrolled in the local school division, to be sent by email and, if applicable, SMS text message within 30 calendar days succeeding the first day of each school year, of (i) the importance of securely storing any prescription drug, as defined in § 54.1-3401, present in the household and (ii) the parent&#8217;s responsibility, in accordance with § 18.2-56.2, to safely store any firearm present in the household.”
Instead of vetoing it, Youngkin continued with the theme of parental communication, <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/HB1678/text/HB1678AG" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adding a requirement</a> that:
<blockquote>Local school boards shall develop protocols by which each public elementary or secondary school principal or his designee shall, as soon as practicable, (i) inform at least one parent of a minor student enrolled in such school if such minor requests that any school employee participate while at school in (a) social affirmation of the minor student&#8217;s gender incongruence or (b) the transition of such minor to a felt or stated gender different from the minor student&#8217;s biological sex and (ii) request and receive permission from at least one parent of a minor student enrolled at such school prior to the implementation at such school of any plan concerning any gender incongruence experienced by such minor, including any counseling of such minor at school that includes a provision for parental participation.</blockquote>
Cohen called the amendment “garbage,” telling <a href="https://www.wvtf.org/news/2025-03-28/youngkin-adds-controversial-amendment-to-parental-notification-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RadioIQ,</a> “For some people, teachers are the only ones they can talk to in their lives.&#8221;
As this reporter&#8217;s book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Race-Bottom-Uncovering-Destroying-Education/dp/0063056720/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Race to the Bottom</a> found, Cohen has a child who has severe cognitive disabilities and who believes she is transgender. She ran for the Fairfax County School Board in 2019 to displace a Republican who had tried to stop the board from rushing through a transgender policy in spite of public comment indicating widespread opposition. Cohen was elected with assistance from Moms Demand Action, a national anti-gun group funded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
On Wednesday, the legislature will hold a floor debate on the provision requiring parental permission for gender transition, and Democrats will have to vote on whether they think schools should transition a child’s gender while keeping it secret from their parents.
Democrats have only slim majorities in each chamber, so Youngkin&#8217;s proposal would become law if even a few Democrats support it. The Daily Wire asked three vulnerable House Democrats — Joshua Cole (Fredericksburg), Josh Thomas (Gainesville), and Michael Feggans (Virginia Beach) — their positions, and none replied.
In 2023, Republicans introduced a similar bill called <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-republican-moves-to-ban-calling-misgendering-child-abuse-after-girl-is-kept-from-her-parents-for-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sage’s Law</a>, named after a girl from rural Virginia who was secretly gender-transitioned by her high school, setting in motion her being sex trafficked to Baltimore, where the FBI found her locked in the home of a convicted sex offender. A Baltimore court refused to return her to Virginia after a school counselor allegedly speculated that Sage&#8217;s mother might not accept her new gender. Instead, she was placed in a foster home for Baltimore’s most troubled boys, and was abused again.
Despite the heartbreaking story, Democrats voted down Sage’s Law last session. It was re-introduced this year, but denied a hearing, at which the story would have been told. (Read about Sage’s horror story <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maryland-refused-to-give-back-a-virginia-runaway-because-her-parents-misgendered-her-then-she-was-sex-trafficked-mother-says">here</a>.)
Sage’s mother later filed a lawsuit against the Appomattox County Public Schools, alleging its counselors summoned Sage to discuss her gender eight times during the first 12 days of the 2021-22 school year. It also alleged that the counselors were providing major psychiatric care they were not qualified or authorized to perform.

Virginia Governor Glenn (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Youngkin Edits Far-Left Legislator’s Gun Bill, Making It Prohibit Secret Gender Transitions For Kids

Gun Control

Public Schools

Transgender

QUANTICO, VA—As members of the White House press corps peppered Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt with questions about the high-level Signal chat on Houthi strikes, Vice President JD Vance was landing at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia.
Vance, who said he came straight from a meeting with the president, was following through on a visit with members of the United States Marine Corps, the same branch of the military in which he served from 2003 to 2007. The vice president has been very open about how much of an impact this service had on him, writing in his memoir that it “taught me how to live like an adult,&#8221; helping him rise above his challenging circumstances at home in rural Appalachia.
He had no idea how far it would lead him.
&#8220;You all know how big of a part the Marine Corps was of my life and how important it was for me,&#8221; he told the gathered troops, flanked by both an American flag and a USMC flag, just as he is in his White House office. &#8220;And I just wanted to say, from the bottom of my heart, from one Marine to another, thank you for your service. We&#8217;re proud of you, and I&#8217;m proud to be here with my fellow Marines. God bless you guys.&#8221;
Back at home base, reporters grilled Leavitt about the Signal group chat, which The Atlantic&#8217;s Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently added to. Vance, who has echoed Team Trump&#8217;s defense that the chat did not discuss war plans and that Goldberg is an anti-Trump writer exaggerating the incident, didn&#8217;t bring up the topic in his remarks to the service members.
Instead, he stressed to the Marines that they were forming &#8220;our young people into United States Marines,&#8221; as they had done for him.
&#8220;And that is, I think, the best thing the Marine Corps does for the United States of America,&#8221; the vice president said.
<div id="attachment_898865" style="width: 890px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/at-quantico-jd-vance-looks-back-and-pays-it-forward-to-the-next-generation/vice-president-vance-visits-marine-corps-base-quantico-2" rel="attachment wp-att-898865"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-898865" class="wp-image-898865 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2207090201-880x576.jpg" alt="" width="880" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2207090201-880x576.jpg 880w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2207090201-300x196.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2207090201-768x503.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2207090201.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 880px) 100vw, 880px" /></a>Vice President JD Vance greets Marines(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)</div>
Ahead of the vice president&#8217;s arrival, hundreds of marines gathered at the hanger to hear him speak. They chatted with one another for several hours as they waited for Vance, not a cell phone in sight, laughing and joking and strolling about the space. Major Karen Jensen told reporters that about 750 marines, total, were expected to gather that morning.
Classic rock played loudly from overhead speakers. The marines looked curiously at the media, who sat awaiting the vice president on a riser, and some of the service members opened up about their thoughts on the vice president.
&#8220;It&#8217;s definitely going to be a breath of fresh air to have a marine that&#8217;s second in charge,&#8221; one young marine told The Daily Wire. &#8220;It&#8217;s good to have that representation for us, especially being the smallest branch, just having somebody to look out and understand how we feel as marines, it&#8217;s very important to me.&#8221;
&#8220;Recruitment in the Marine Corps is at an all-time high right now,&#8221; another marine from Georgia shared, asking how the new Trump administration is affecting recruitment. &#8220;A lot of people want to join the military now that we have people that are willing to back the United States.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Awaiting <a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VP</a>’s arrival at Quantico, these young marines speak about their enthusiasm for Vance:
“It’s definitely going to be a breath of fresh air”
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet someone like him”
“Love to see the Marine Corps representing the United States” <a href="https://t.co/fdYOdHGnp8">pic.twitter.com/fdYOdHGnp8</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1904905615765348492?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
Every marine who spoke with The Daily Wire was proud that the vice president was coming to their base. It&#8217;s a new feeling for many of them: to know they are represented by a man who has walked in their shoes, and who now holds the second most important office in the United States of America.
Lance Corporal Jacob Parker <a href="https://x.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1904909757607014802">says he didn’t initially know</a> his new vice president was a marine. When he learned the news, he said with a grin, his reaction was, &#8220;Hell yeah.” When asked if the vice president&#8217;s visit motivates him, he told The Daily Wire, “Yes ma’am, I have a lot of motivation in my body going through my veins.”
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Lance Corporal Casey Bonestroo, who sat with the vice president while he had lunch with the service members in the chow hall, <a href="https://x.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1904913777402720750">also told The Daily Wire</a> that she found it &#8220;super motivating&#8221; to &#8220;know that we have a leader in the White House who has been in our shoes.&#8221;
&#8220;He was the one to get down and dirty for our country, the same thing that we are,&#8221; she said.
The vice president&#8217;s arrival drew huge enthusiasm from the assembled marines, who chanted their battle cry, &#8220;Ooh-rah,&#8221; each time he paused his remarks. Vance struck a notable, almost paternal note when he spoke to them: both he, and President Donald Trump, are not only incredibly proud of the Marine Corps — they also love the United States Marines, and they&#8217;ll do anything to make sure they are equipped for their mission.
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And in that same tone, Vance shared with the service members how proud he is about the new direction the United States military is headed under Trump&#8217;s leadership. He spoke casually, but to the point.
&#8220;We don&#8217;t care who you are, where you came from. We don&#8217;t care what skin color you are. We care about excellence, and we care about patriotism.&#8221;
&#8220;If you are awesome and you are a patriotic young Marine, then we are going to do everything that we can to make you the most lethal fighting force the world has ever seen, and that is what we&#8217;re doing every single day,&#8221; Vance added.
The United States is done with woke ideology, Vance stressed, and focused on creating warriors.
&#8220;No more quotas,&#8221; he said. &#8220;No more ridiculous mumbo jumbo.  No more diversity trainings.  We believe the real strength and the real diversity in the United States Marine Corps is that you all come from every walk of life, come from every corner of America, and you have got the strength and the purpose to win the nation&#8217;s wars.  And that is what the Marine Corps is going to do, just like it&#8217;s done for damn near 250 years.&#8221;
Vance promised the marines that the Trump administration would invest in them &#8220;like we never have before,&#8221; vowing, &#8220;I promise to you, from the president of the United States, we are going to send you, if we have to send you to war, with the best equipment, the best ammunition, the best weapons.  And we are going to empower you guys to win when you have to.  That&#8217;s the purpose the United States Marine Corps.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_898861" style="width: 834px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/at-quantico-jd-vance-looks-back-and-pays-it-forward-to-the-next-generation/vice-president-vance-visits-marine-corps-base-quantico" rel="attachment wp-att-898861"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-898861" class="wp-image-898861 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2207091277-824x576.jpg" alt="" width="824" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2207091277-824x576.jpg 824w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2207091277-300x210.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2207091277-768x537.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GettyImages-2207091277.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 824px) 100vw, 824px" /></a>Vance at a Quantico gun range. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)</div>
The visit didn&#8217;t end there. Vance dined with the Marines at the Dwyer Chow Hall, asking the service members where they were from and joking with them about Marine life. And then he headed out to the shooting range, to test some weapon systems that had been prepared for him.
Reporters were told to stay at a safe distance behind barriers and use earplugs to guard their ears from the sounds of the weapons, and photographers huddled close together to get a good shot as the Vice President of the United States lay on his stomach in the dirt and fired off at distant targets.
He laughed heartily after he tested each weapon, clearly enjoying himself, and joked with the marines who walked him through each weapon system, including an M27 5.56 Infantry Automatic Rifle, replicating the Marine Corps annual qualification training, an M107 .50 caliber sniper rifle, and an M240B machine gun. He also tested out a first-person view drone, the Skydio X2D drone from the Marine Corps Attack Drone team from The Basic School.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VP</a> on the range: <a href="https://t.co/6wfYOQAfaU">pic.twitter.com/6wfYOQAfaU</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1904972827444257252?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
Shortly before he left, he even tested out the M101 105mm howitzer, a type of cannon.
&#8220;Are we good? No projectiles?&#8221; he questioned before he fired the howitzer, and gestured towards the reporters, joking, &#8220;The media would never let me live that one down.&#8221;
He fired the howitzer, saying delightedly, &#8220;WOW,&#8221; as the weapon resounded loudly throughout the range.
Vance has said the Marine Corps taught him how to be a warrior, showed him that he could run three miles in 19 minutes, and effectively handle weapons and finagle media comms in the media relations office. But he also says that the Marines taught him how to make smart financial decisions, gave him brotherhood with Marines that will last a lifetime, and, most importantly, gave him the courage to face life&#8217;s challenges.
“It was the Marine Corps that first gave me an opportunity to truly fail, made me take that opportunity, and then, when I did fail, gave me another chance anyway,” he wrote.
So, while Wednesday&#8217;s visit to Quantico was inspiring for the Marines, it&#8217;s likely it was even more inspiring to the vice president himself.
“The Vice President is always grateful for the opportunity to speak to our brave service members,&#8221; a spokesman for Vance told The Daily Wire. &#8220;As the first former Marine to serve as Vice President, today was especially meaningful.”

US-POLITICS-MARINE-MILITARY

At Quantico, JD Vance Looks Back And Pays It Forward To The Next Generation

JD Vance

Marines

The Department of Justice announced Thursday morning that a top leader of the violent MS-13 gang had been arrested in Virginia and would soon be deported.
Alongside FBI Director Kash Patel and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the leader of MS-13 for the East Coast had been taken into custody about 30 miles outside of Washington, D.C. The arrest was part of a federal, state, and local task force that has been working for weeks on the operation.
“Early this morning, one of the top leaders of MS-13 was apprehended,&#8221; Bondi announced at a press conference. &#8220;He was the leader for the East Coast, one of the top three in the entire country. Right here in Virginia, living half an hour outside of Washington, D.C. He is an illegal alien from El Salvador and he will not be living in our country much longer. He’s in custody this morning.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: I’m proud to announce that early this morning our brave law enforcement officers conducted a successful operation that captured a top MS-13 national leader
DOJ will not rest until we make America safe again. <a href="https://t.co/yKmhas068b">pic.twitter.com/yKmhas068b</a>
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi/status/1905229078614995199?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Bondi thanked Youngkin, Patel, Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and the other local and state agencies for their efforts to aid the operation.
“Everyone was working as a team and the most important thing: all of our agents were safe this morning, all of our law enforcement officers, and the bad guy is in jail. That’s what matters, that’s what happens. America is safer today because one of the top domestic terrorists in MS-13 is off the streets,&#8221; Bondi said. 
Bondi said that the undisclosed advanced technology had been used in the operation and that the DOJ would continue to push to dismantle MS-13 completely. She said that the man arrested was one of the top three MS-13 leaders in the United States.
Youngkin said that the arrest was made in Dale City, Virginia, and that the MS-13 leader was &#8220;going to go back where he came from.&#8221; He said that the arrest was made possible by the Trump administration, saying that he had little help from the Biden Administration his first three years as governor.
Bondi said that the kind of task force created would be offered to every other state around the country.
President Donald Trump celebrated the arrest on Truth Social, praising his border czar, Tom Homan.
“Just captured a major leader of MS13. Tom HOMAN is a superstar!” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114234217151169492" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on Truth Social. 
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also announced the arrest.
“This is what happens when you have competent federal leadership working with state/local law enforcement on the ground!” she posted on X.

Attorney General Bondi Speaks On Immigration Enforcement Actions

FBI Arrests Top MS-13 Leader Just Outside D.C.: ‘America Is Safer Today’

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Illegal Immigration

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MS-13 Gang

Pam Bondi

Jessica Aber, a former U.S. attorney nominated by former President Joe Biden who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-nominated-former-u-s-attorney-found-dead-at-43" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found dead</a> at the age of 43 by police over the weekend in Virginia, had been experiencing health issues for years, Aber&#8217;s family said on Wednesday.
&#8220;It is with tremendous sorrow that we acknowledge the sudden passing of our beloved Jessica (Jess) Aber, who died in her sleep on Saturday, March 22,&#8221; Aber&#8217;s family <a href="https://x.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/1904936637932449822" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement, per CBS News reporter Scott MacFarlane.
&#8220;Jess suffered from epilepsy and epileptic seizures for many years and on Tuesday, March 25, Alexandria (Virginia) Police said in a statement that they believe her death was the result of natural causes,&#8221; they added.
The Alexandria Police Department did provide an update on the investigation of Aber&#8217;s death on Tuesday.
&#8220;At this time, detectives have found no evidence suggesting that her death was caused by anything other than natural causes,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/AlexandriaVAPD/status/1904651981936882045" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> police, who added that the case would remain open until the Officer of the Chief Medical Examiner returns &#8220;a final ruling on the cause and manner of death.&#8221;
In their statement, Aber&#8217;s family said they expect more information from the medical examiner in the coming weeks.
&#8220;Our family is in shock and grieving deeply and we respectfully request privacy as we attempt to navigate through our unspeakable loss,&#8221; Aber&#8217;s family said.
Aber <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/us-attorney-jessica-d-aber-announces-resignation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">served</a> more than three years as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. She had been nominated for the role by Biden in August of 2021 and was confirmed by the Senate in October of that year. She resigned on January 20, just as President Donald Trump began his second term.
Various officials released statements in response to Aber&#8217;s death.
&#8220;The loss of Jessica Aber, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, is deeply tragic. Our hearts and prayers go out to her family and friends during this profoundly difficult time,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/1903628602010198035" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) <a href="https://x.com/timkaine/status/1903601607809343702" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X, &#8220;My prayers are with Jessica Aber’s loved ones. Jessica was an exceptional public servant who dedicated her life to serving her fellow Virginians. She will be deeply missed.&#8221;

Jessica Aber

Family Speaks Out On Death Of Biden-Nominated Former U.S. Attorney

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Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed a Democrat-backed bill on Tuesday that advocates say would have been used to target peaceful pro-life protesters and sidewalk counselors outside of abortion facilities. 
The bill would have sharply restricted the activities of pro-life advocates around abortion facilities, including imposing penalties for “impeding” access to an abortion provider. In his veto message, the Republican governor said that the legislation was an unconstitutional attack on free speech. 
“This legislation is an unconstitutional time, place, and manner restriction on the God-given, constitutionally protected right to the freedom of speech,” Youngkin <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/SB1324/text/SB1324VG" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. “It creates new criminal penalties for what one might say or where they stand when they say it. If this bill were to become law, a citizen of the Commonwealth, the crucible of our representative democracy, could be jailed simply for carrying a sign.”
The legislation, <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/SB1324/text/SB1324ER" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SB 1324</a>, would create penalties for anyone “who knowingly obstructs, detains, hinders, impedes, blocks, or delays another person&#8217;s entry to or exit” from a health care facility. 
It would also block anyone from approaching “another person within eight feet of such person in the public way or sidewalk area within a radius of 40 feet from any entrance door to a health care facility, unless such other person consents to the approach, for the purpose of giving, tendering, or exhibiting any material to, displaying a sign to, or engaging in oral protest, education, or counseling with such other person.”
That provision would have restricted the work of pro-life sidewalk counselors who gather outside abortion facilities to urge women not to end the life of their unborn child and frequently offer help with their pregnancies. 
The Democrat-backed legislation <a href="https://legiscan.com/VA/votes/SB1324/2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> the House of Delegates 51-45 and Senate 21-19 in party-line votes. 
Pro-life advocates said that SB 1324 was meant to chill their speech.
“This bill is part of a concerted effort to stifle efforts to provide oversight of abortion providers and prevent individuals and groups from counseling women away from abortion,” Victoria Cobb of the Virginia-based Family Foundation <a href="https://www.lifenews.com/2025/01/29/trump-pardoned-pro-life-americans-now-virginia-democrats-want-to-lock-them-up/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> as the measure worked its way through the legislature. “SB 1324 represents a clear attack on the ability to peacefully voice opposition to abortion, criminalizing the very act of offering alternatives and support to women visiting these facilities.”
The law would have been similar to the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal offense to sit or stand in front of the entrances to abortion facilities. During the Biden administration, FACE was used to lock up peaceful pro-life protesters. 
President Donald Trump has taken a drastically different approach, pardoning the pro-lifers targeted by Biden, and directing his Justice Department to only prosecute FACE cases in instances of extreme violence. 
Youngkin on Tuesday also vetoed a number of other Democrat backed-bills, including legislation on gun control, pushing so-called green energy, and expanding recreational marijuana.

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Youngkin Vetoes Democrat Bill Allowing Pro-Lifers To Be ‘Jailed Simply For Carrying A Sign’

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A former U.S. attorney nominated by former President Joe Biden was found dead over the weekend in Virginia, according to authorities.
&#8220;This morning, at approximately 9:18 a.m., Alexandria Police responded to the 900 block of Beverley Drive for the report of an unresponsive woman. Officers located a deceased woman,&#8221; the Alexandria Police Department said in a <a href="https://x.com/MarinaMedvin/status/1903561751683125400" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on Saturday.
&#8220;Following notification of family members, the Alexandria Police Department can confirm the identity of the woman as Ms. Jessica Aber, age 43, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia,&#8221; police added.
&#8220;As a matter of protocol, an investigation is underway surrounding the circumstances of her death,&#8221; the department said. &#8220;The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia will determine the cause and manner of death.&#8221;
Aber <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/us-attorney-jessica-d-aber-announces-resignation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">served</a> more than three years as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. She had been nominated for the role by Biden in August of 2021 and was confirmed by the Senate in October of that year. She resigned on January 20, just as President Donald Trump began his second term.
&#8220;I’ve had the privilege of spending my career as a prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia working alongside talented, hard-working public servants who manage matters affecting citizens here and across the world,&#8221; Aber said upon announcing her plans to resign.
&#8220;Concluding my service to the District as its U.S. Attorney has been an honor beyond measure,&#8221; she added. &#8220;I am deeply grateful to Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (D-VA) and to President Biden for the opportunity to lead this office, and to Attorney General [Merrick] Garland for his steadfast leadership. I am proud of the work we have done with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to enforce the law and build community trust.&#8221;
A number of officials released statements in response to Aber&#8217;s death.
&#8220;The loss of Jessica Aber, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, is deeply tragic. Our hearts and prayers go out to her family and friends during this profoundly difficult time,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/1903628602010198035" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Kaine <a href="https://x.com/timkaine/status/1903601607809343702" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X, &#8220;My prayers are with Jessica Aber’s loved ones. Jessica was an exceptional public servant who dedicated her life to serving her fellow Virginians. She will be deeply missed.&#8221;

Biden-Nominated Former U.S. Attorney Found Dead At 43

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Tim Kaine

U.S. attorneys

“There is a Passion natural to the Mind of man, especially a free Man, which renders him impatient of Restraint.” — George Mason
“If I were king, I would not allow people to go around burning the American flag. However, we have a First Amendment which says that the right of free speech shall not be abridged — and it is addressed in particular to speech critical of the government. That was the main kind of speech that tyrants would seek to suppress.” — Justice Antonin Scalia
* * *
We are both third-year law students at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University and we recently experienced speech suppression by university officials that completely goes against the spirit of the two figures our school represents. We objected to the idea of men in women’s restrooms — and vice versa. Fortunately, after we filed a <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/cerankosky-v-washington/?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, our school quickly reversed course and has revised the policy used against us.
We are both part of a “Scalia Law ‘25” GroupMe discussion board for students in our graduating class, and late last September, a fellow third-year law student notified the group that he had been chosen as the official law school student representative for the Graduate and Professional Studies Assembly (GAPSA). He noted that GAPSA reports to the GMU administration, promised to do his best to advocate for all law students, and informed us that he had already shared some “concerns.”
One of the “concerns” he shared with GAPSA was a proposal to add feminine hygiene products to all restrooms “regardless of gender marker.” This, of course, implies a belief that one’s sense of “gender identity” is subjective, meaning that men could access women’s restrooms. We were immediately concerned for our personal safety and found that this proposal conflicted with our religious beliefs. The proposal put forward by the other student had the opposite effect of his promise to alleviate our concerns and advocate for us.
At the end of his post, the student asked if there was anything we would like to address. We voiced our opinions, highlighting our privacy and safety concerns with his proposal. Other students agreed by “liking” our posts. We also pointed out that conservative students have just as much of a right to be represented as everyone else. Despite soliciting our concerns and promising to represent all students to GAPSA, this student responded by mocking our opinions, condescending that it wasn’t any of our “business what gender someone identifies with.” While he mocked our beliefs, we respectfully responded that, as women, it is absolutely our business if men have access to our restrooms.
Two weeks later, the university’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion slapped us with no-contact orders prohibiting us from having any communication with the student.
We weren’t notified that the student had complained to the DEI Office, nor were we warned that we could potentially receive no-contact orders. Under GMU’s <a href="https://adfmedialegalfiles.blob.core.windows.net/files/CerankoskyExhibits1to12.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Title IX policy</a> at that time, the orders applied both on- and off-campus and remained in place until the DEI Office — in its sole discretion — rescinded them.
When we expressed our concerns with school officials, they tried to <a href="https://adfmedialegalfiles.blob.core.windows.net/files/CerankoskyExhibits1to12.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shrug</a> it off by saying the orders were not “disciplinary” and were reciprocal, meaning the other student has no-contact orders with us. When we raised the issue that these orders suppressed our free speech, the school told us we’re allowed to have our opinions; the no-contact orders are a result of the “effect” of our speech.
They tried to convince us that there’s a difference — but if we must tiptoe around sharing our opinions because others may disagree, that chills our speech and violates our constitutional rights. With those orders, we faced expulsion from the school if the student alleged a violation of the orders. There are even state bar exams that ask if we have faced any sort of disciplinary action while at school.
As such, we decided to file a lawsuit against the school, and GMU did the right thing and settled the case with us. Officials lifted the no-contact orders, ensured that these kinds of orders would not be used to suppress speech — now giving our school one of the best policies in the country. We also received financial compensation.
Universities and law schools should be vibrant centers in the marketplace of ideas. GMU is right to change its policy to uphold the vision of its namesake that respects the rights of all students.
* * *
Selene Cerankosky and Maria Arcara are third-year law students at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Statue of George Mason on campus of George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia

We Took A Stand For Biological Truth At Our University — And Won

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

American Universities

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Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin on Thursday ordered the Virginia State Police and Department of Corrections &#8220;to support federal immigration enforcement efforts.&#8221;
Youngkin signed an executive order requiring the agencies to sign agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that &#8220;will create a State Police Task Force of federally deputized troopers to assist in the identification and apprehension of criminal illegal immigrants who pose a risk to public safety throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia,&#8221; the governor&#8217;s office said.
The executive order said it will serve &#8220;as a force multiplier for law enforcement agencies to enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during their routine police duties.&#8221;
&#8220;In February 2024, an Old Dominion University student was killed in a car crash by an illegal immigrant who previously had multiple run-ins with the law, having previously been ordered deported six years earlier,&#8221; the order read. &#8220;That month, an illegal immigrant sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in Campbell County. In November 2024, a woman was attacked and raped by an illegal immigrant from Honduras while hiking along a trail in Herndon. Reports indicate that the man had 29 encounters with the police.&#8221;
The <a href="https://www.governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/governor-of-virginia/pdf/eo/EO-47-Keeping-Virginians-Safe-From-Dangerous-Criminal-Illegal-Immigrants.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a>, &#8220;Keeping Virginians Safe From Dangerous Illegal Immigrants,&#8221; said that 946 inmates in the Virginia Department of Corrections have an immigration detainer. Ninety percent are violent criminals, 40% are rapists or sexual assailants, and 20% are murderers.
A &#8220;Jail Enforcement Model&#8221; will &#8220;identify and process removable immigrants who are incarcerated in state or local correction facilities.&#8221; Virginia prisons&#8217; cooperation with ICE will be &#8220;proactive,&#8221; the order said. It adds that it will &#8220;request&#8221; confirmation of full cooperation with ICE from jails run by counties.
Youngkin&#8217;s order also stated &#8220;a commitment to public safety demands that the Commonwealth recognize that the nexus between illegal immigration and dangerous criminal activity is real.&#8221;
The executive order said the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 created Section 287(g), which permits delegating &#8220;specified immigration officer functions&#8221; to federally-trained state and local law enforcement. An order from President Trump directs ICE to use such agreements to maximum effect.
President Donald Trump last week appointed Youngkin to co-chair the bipartisan Council of Governors.
Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, a Jamaican immigrant who is running to succeed the term-limited Youngkin, <a href="https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2025/february/name-1041944-en.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CKeeping%20Virginians%20safe%20from%20violent,deported%20consistent%20with%20the%20law.%E2%80%9D">said</a> in announcing the move that &#8220;we’ve seen too many tragic stories after dangerous criminals in this country illegally were put back on the streets, and this Executive Order will make sure we send them back to where they came from.”

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