Transcript: Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Nov. 9, 2025

The next is the transcript of the interview with Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Nov. 9, 2025.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We flip now to the Democratic governor elect of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, she joins us this morning from Glen Allen, simply exterior of Richmond. Welcome to Face The Nation.

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER: Thanks a lot for having me.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Nicely, Virginia boasts one of many highest numbers of federal staff within the nation, and as you understand, lots of them should not getting paid. You realize, some in your occasion take a look at your election on Tuesday and the win in New Jersey and say that’s permission to carry the road in Congress and refuse to fund the federal government or fold on the shutdown. Ought to congressional Democrats view your victory that manner?

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER: Completely not. Our victory was a victory that was primarily based on a marketing campaign that was addressing considerations associated to prices and chaos. My marketing campaign throughout the previous two years have been targeted on listening to the challenges that persons are dealing with all throughout Virginia. It’s rising prices in well being care, housing, vitality, and it’s the chaos popping out of Washington that has been impacting Virginians so severely, starting with the DOGE efforts, after all, persevering with with chaotic commerce insurance policies, and now on this authorities shutdown. Virginians must and Virginians need to see the federal government reopen, and my expectation is that we’ll see a congress, a Senate, and in the end a president, driving us in that path.

MARGARET BRENNAN: However ought to congressional Democrats open the federal government after which discuss well being care?

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER: The federal government must open and it must open instantly. We want the president to show management, bringing individuals collectively, endeavoring to get by way of no matter negotiations must get by way of, whether or not it’s earlier than or after. My precedence is the, is specializing in the wants and the, the devastation, frankly, that greater than 300,000 Virginians are dealing with. And that’s simply the federal workers, authorities contractors, they may by no means get made entire. The whole lot of Virginia’s financial system is impacted by the shutdown, simply as we’ve been impacted by Doge assaults, and the federal government must reopen shortly.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Nicely, and that’s why I’m asking, as a result of there are what, 825,000 enrollees on meals help within the SNAP program. They’re in limbo proper now. You’ve gotten rapid ache, so at what level do you weigh that in opposition to the potential of well being care premiums? I imply, this ache could be very actual and really acute for individuals in your state proper now.

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER: And it’s been occurring now for weeks, weeks too lengthy the federal government must reopen as a result of along with the ache that we’re already seeing–

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN

However eight Democrats might cross the aisle and achieve this.

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER: We completely want everybody to vote to open the federal government. And that’s to not say that the challenges we’re dealing with inside our well being care system should not additionally rapid and acute. Even the passage of the One Massive, Lovely Invoice may have catastrophic impacts on Virginia, taking $26 billion out of our well being care, resulting in the closure of no less than six rural hospitals. We’ve already seen three rural clinics announce their closure. A whole lot of 1000s will lose their Medicaid, and so the impacts on well being care are already catastrophic. We can not compound that ache by retaining the federal government closed.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Let’s take a break and end this on the opposite facet of it. Please stick with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome again to Face The Nation. We return to our dialog with Virginia Governor elect Abigail Spanberger. Governor-elect, synthetic intelligence has created a very massive demand for these information facilities, and Virginia has the world’s largest focus of them. Energy payments are up almost 7% in your state over the previous yr. Is that pushed by the AI increase? And if that’s the case, how do you offset these rising vitality prices?

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER: Nicely, what we’ve seen within the, within the analysis to this point is that it isn’t, the elevated prices should not pushed by the rise in information facilities. There’s some dangerous vitality insurance policies in a few of our neighboring states which have pushed up costs, significantly in southwest Virginia. However wanting in direction of the long run, we’ve to be clear eyed about the truth that we may have an vitality disaster headed into the long run. And so right here on the bottom in Virginia, we at present have a fee case the place it is going to be essential that enormous scale vitality customers, significantly information facilities, that the general public, know that they’re paying their justifiable share for the vitality that they’re utilizing. And we’ve to extend our vitality manufacturing right here at house in order that we are able to meet the demand, actually of bigger scale vitality customers, however, but in addition of elevated demand from, from our communities. And it’s a actual problem that we’ve to get forward of. And that’s why among the many first affordability plans that I laid out was one targeted on vitality. It’s a problem that’s pervasive throughout our communities and significantly acute in southwest Virginia.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Only a few days in the past, Cornell College reached a $60 million cope with the Trump administration in an effort to see their federal funding restored. That is the fifth such deal for the reason that administration started this stress marketing campaign on universities. I do know you went to College of Virginia, as did I, and have to be following that. UVA reduce offers with the federal government, together with kicking out the president of the varsity. You referred to as that extortion. However now, as governor, are you going to need to play ball with the Division of Training and the Justice Division in an effort to maintain federal authorities funding going?

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER: So it ought to, It ought to shock everybody that universities, private and non-private, are receiving calls for from the federal authorities and that {dollars}, analysis {dollars}, are being withheld, that our universities are beneath assault. And definitely what we’ve seen within the case the College of Virginia, a well-liked, skilled, wonderful president was pushed out, and on the bottom right here, we didn’t see our governor in any manner step up in protection of our college. And the concept the federal authorities can be withholding federal {dollars}, together with {dollars} already appropriated by Congress for analysis, in an effort to compel universities to take sure actions, it’s absolute federal authorities overreach, and as governor, I can be clear eyed about making certain that we’ve constructions in place, together with boards of holiday makers throughout our universities that need to defend tutorial freedom and admittedly, the viability and vitality of extraordinary establishments just like the College of Virginia.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I need to ask you about your occasion. In 2020 when Democrats misplaced Home seats, you stated we have to not ever use the phrase socialist or socialism ever once more. There are some who look to Tuesday’s win in New York Metropolis of a Democratic socialist and say that your, your occasion is definitely being rewarded for echoing progressive insurance policies. Does that victory create a branding downside for Democrats?

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER: Nicely, actually, you understand, I’m enthusiastic about what we did right here in Virginia on Tuesday. I campaigned addressing, wanting to deal with the problems of prices and stopping the chaos. I’m a capitalist, I’m a Democrat, and I received by 15 factors in Virginia. You look to New Jersey, and an identical story in Mikie Sherrill’s win now the governor elect there. And so I feel, you understand, actually, we’re a giant tent occasion, however once I take a look at what led to the success that we had right here, and the, you understand, the mandate for actual governance right here within the Commonwealth of Virginia, it was primarily based on what I campaigned on, the efforts to actually tackle the challenges that persons are dealing with in a daily foundation. And now it’s on us to ship and show that that actually actually the the mandate that we’ve to work on decreasing prices and strengthening our colleges and retaining our communities protected and and creating regular management right here within the Commonwealth of Virginia, significantly in gentle of the chaos popping out of Washington, that not solely was it a profitable message, however the profitable path in direction of governance.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Thanks very a lot on your time this morning, Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger, the, who would be the first feminine governor ever of the state of Virginia. We’ll be proper again.

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