FFX Now: NoVA elected officials report improved conditions at ICE field office in Chantilly

| Posted in In the News

Conditions at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Chantilly have improved in recent weeks, four of Northern Virginia’s federal legislators say. Sen. Mark Warner, as well as Reps. James Walkinshaw, Suhas Subramanyam and Don Beyer, visited the facility last Friday (Sept. 26) “after a month of attempting to gain access.” “We are relieved to report that as of today,…

Roll Call: He once worked for Gerry Connolly. Now he hopes to carry on his legacy

| Posted in In the News

James R. Walkinshaw picked the rich blue shade on his office walls 16 years ago, but on behalf of his then-boss, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly. Walkinshaw, who worked as the Virginia Democrat’s chief of staff for more than a decade, returned to Congress earlier this month as a member. He won a special election to finish Connolly’s unexpired term after the longtime lawmaker died in May. His…

MSNBC Opinion: Russ Vought's directive to fire federal workers during a shutdown is illegal

| Posted in In the News

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought wants Americans to believe that in the event of a government shutdown, he and President Donald Trump have the power to fire swaths of federal employees at will. They cannot. Vought’s vindictive memo, directing agencies to consider reductions in force (RIFs) for employees in programs whose funding would lapse under a shutdown, reads…

WaPo: The full force of Trumps federal job cuts is about to hit the D.C. region

| Posted in In the News

The D.C. region is bracing for new economic pain next week as paychecks stop coming for thousands of federal workers who took the government’s offer of deferred resignation — and the threat of a shutdown could make it worse. Since January, the region’s unemployment rate has already increased more than eight times as quickly as that of the country as a whole, according to analysis by…

NextGov: Connolly's successor, James Walkinshaw, looks to carry on his IT and workforce legacy

| Posted in In the News

Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., was sworn into office earlier this month to take up the seat in Congress previously held by longtime Virginia Democrat Gerry Connolly, a strong supporter of governmentwide IT initiatives who died in May. Walkinshaw — formerly a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors who spent over a decade working as the chief of staff for Conolloy — has quickly…

NOTUS: Democrats Blast OMBs Government Shutdown Layoff Threat: Get Lost

| Posted in In the News

Democrats blasted a federal government memo from Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, that advised federal agencies to plan for mass layoffs instead of furloughs should there be a government shutdown next week. Trump opponents’ message was simple: They won’t be intimidated by what Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia called “mob boss-style extortion from…

The Hill: Public service, not presidential power grabs

| Posted in In the News

Last week, I was elected in the first special election held since the so-called “big, beautiful bill” was signed into law. The voter turnout set a record for congressional special elections in Virginia and the 50-point margin shocked pundits. Although special elections don’t always reflect broader trends or predict future election results, in this case there are important lessons to be…

WAMU: The Politics Hour: Virginias newly elected U.S. Rep. James Walkinshaw

| Posted in In the News

Fairfax voters this week overwhelmingly elected Democrat James Walkinshaw to succeed the late Gerry Connolly in Congress in Virginia’s 11th district. Walkinshaw, who was sworn in on Wednesday, takes over for his mentor during a particularly tumultuous time for Northern Virginia. Congressman Walkinshaw joined the show to discuss the 51,000 civilian federal workers who live in the…

NBC4: New Rep. Walkinshaw promises a push for affordable housing in Northern Virginia

| Posted in In the News

Newly elected Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Virginia, made affordable housing for Fairfax County a key issue during his campaign. Walkinshaw was sworn in Wednesday as the representative for Virginia's 11th Congressional District, succeeding the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died in May. In an interview with News4 a week before his victory, Walkinshaw shared how he planned to address the…