by Alexandra Abrams
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) its January 2024 Porker of the Month for agreeing to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on a new mega sports complex.
On December 13, 2023, Gov. Youngkin joined Washington Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonsis in a press conference to announce that both teams will be moving to Alexandria, Virginia. This plan will force Virginia and Alexandria taxpayers to spend $300 million for the new arena and improvements surrounding the facility. The Capitals and Wizards have played in Washington, D.C. since 1997, and their arena recently received a $30 million upgrade in 2019. Many Virginia residents are against this proposal, which will hurt their wallets and create nightmarish traffic problems along an existing major thoroughfare, for which the city of Alexandria is not prepared. State taxpayer dollars will be used to double the capacity of the nearby Metro station and contribute to the development of the arena and surrounding facilities.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “There is no reason Gov. Youngkin should penalize Virginia taxpayers by moving Washington’s teams into Virginia. Moving the teams will create many issues for Virginians who are opposed to this plan. Gov. Youngkin deserves a game misconduct for high-sticking taxpayers with a bill for hundreds of millions of dollars. For his agreement to make such a bad deal for Virginians, Gov. Youngkin was an easy choice for this month’s Porker.”
Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the taxpayers.
