VIRGINIA, USA — As President-elect Donald Trump makes nominations and hires staff ahead of his return to the White House, Virginia's Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin used the opportunity Tuesday to make a real estate pitch.
"To the new members of President Trump's administration moving to the area, I want to personally invite you to make Virginia your home," Gov. Youngkin says in an advertisement, posted to social media. "Virginia is right across the Potomac, we offer a great quality of life."
Youngkin has been an active supporter of President-elect Trump, including during Trump's presidential campaign, with the Republican governor introducing Trump at his Nov. 2 rally in Salem, Va.
It was a favor Youngkin had returned, as Trump had endorsed the Virginia governor during Youngkin's successful 2021 campaign.
In his advertisement, posted to social media on Tuesday, Youngkin also compared Virginia with its DMV counterparts, saying that the commonwealth has lower taxes than D.C. and Maryland.
"Virginia is the best place to live, work and raise a family," Youngkin claims in the video. According to Tax Foundation, a non-profit that analyzes tax data, Virginia's average state and local taxes are, in fact, slightly lower than Maryland and D.C. In that study, Virginia averages a 5.77% tax rate while D.C. and Maryland both have a 6% tax rate.
Virginia has been a moving destination for political leaders and presidential administration officials, from both sides of the aisle for many years. For example, Vice President-elect and Republican U.S. Senator from Ohio J.D. Vance has lived in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Va. since last year.
On the Democratic side, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are among the members of the Biden administration who live in Virginia. Blinken lives in McLean and Austin lives in Great Falls.
While Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser have not made specific pitches to Trump administration officials to move to their jurisdictions, both have pledged to work with the Trump administration on some issues, despite political disagreements. Moore and Bowser both supported Trump's opponent Vice President Harris during this year's election.
"We are ready to push back on the administration when necessary," Gov. Moore said in a speech to his cabinet on Nov. 8. "Where we can find common ground, we will."
"We have been discussing and planning for months in the case that the District has to defend itself and its values," Bowser, who had also been mayor during Trump's first term, said on Nov. 12. "We know the administration is focused on making the federal government more efficient, we are for that."