Virginia governor consults with officials on whether to quit

Most of the state’s Democratic establishment turned against him. No Images? Click here         Virginia Governor Ralph Northam Consults With Officials On Whether To Quit Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam consulted with top administration officials Monday about whether he should stay in office or resign amid an uproar over a racist photo on his 1984 medical school yearbook page. Practically all of the state’s Democratic establishment — and Republican leaders, too — turned against the 59-year-old Democrat after the picture surfaced of someone in blackface next to another person in a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe. The sense of crisis deepened as the official next in line to be governor, Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, denied an uncorroborated allegation of sexual misconduct first reported by a conservative website. Fairfax told reporters that the 2004 encounter with a woman was consensual, and he called the accusation a “smear.” Northam stayed out of sight as he met with his Cabinet and senior staff, following a meeting the night before with minority officials in his administration. The governor wanted to hear their assessment of whether it is feasible for him to stay in office, according to a top administration official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The meetings included frank conversations about the difficulties of governing under such circumstances, the person said. READ MORE     WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING? If history is any guide, President Donald Trump will head to Capitol Hill Tuesday night and call for unity and bipartisanship. And if history is any guide, he will within days or even hours of his State of the Union address let loose divisive attacks against Democrats and other critics and veer off on unrelated tangents. READ MORE Some Democrats are refusing to attend the State of the Union. U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) is the fourth and latest Democrat to announce plans to skip the speech Tuesday. READ MORE   President Donald Trump on Monday announced he will nominate David Bernhardt as the 53rd secretary of the Department of the Interior. Bernhardt, a former fossil fuel lobbyist with a slew of potential conflicts of interests, has led the agency in an acting role since scandal-plagued agency chief Ryan Zinke resigned early last month.  READ MORE    .     ICYMI Progressives have found themselves locked out of the Supreme Court for the foreseeable future. So some are turning to a new strategy to keep the court from damaging their policy priorities: presenting arguments to its conservative justices in a language they understand.   New Jersey’s governor signed legislation Monday to gradually increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, marking the latest win for the Fight for $15 labor campaign.   Several Democratic lawmakers announced plans on Monday to take federal workers who were furloughed during the partial government shutdown as their guests to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address this week.    . Want more?  Sarah Huckabee Sanders Has An Interesting Defense Of Trump’s ‘Executive Time' Democratic Donor Who Shunned Kirsten Gillibrand Over Al Franken Backs Kamala Harris San Diego’s Republican Mayor Wants To Make City More Welcoming To Immigrants     HuffPost is now a part of Oath and a part of Verizon. On May 25, 2018 we introduced a new Oath Privacy Policy which will explain how your data is used and shared. Learn More. How will Trump’s administration impact you? Sign up for our email and find out. Did a friend send you this? Subscribe here. Like what you see? Share it. Want more? Here are two other newsletters you'll love: The Morning Email and Must Reads. ©2018 HuffPost | 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 You are receiving this email because you signed up for updates from HuffPost Feedback | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe    . - - Preferences  |  Unsubscribe