LEXINGTON, Va. – Several members of Virginia’s congressional delegation are raising concerns about proposed legislation that would change oversight of the Virginia Military Institute.
Republican Reps. Ben Cline, Morgan Griffith and John McGuire are among five U.S. representatives from Virginia who signed a letter addressed to Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asking the administration to step in.
Lawmakers called it “a truly bipartisan issue,” writing that “it concerns the stability of a federally recognized officer-development system upon which the entire Nation depends.” They added that “State authority over public institutions must operate in harmony with federal supremacy in matters of national defense.”
Cline said, “VMI has national implications.”
“It is of concern that policymakers even thought about altering the great institution that is VMI,” Cline continued.
The proposed measures include House Bill No. 1374 and House Bill No. 1377. HB 1374 would cap the number of VMI alumni and Virginia residents who can serve on the school’s Board of Visitors at one time. HB 1377 would establish the Virginia Military Institute Advisory Task Force to assess whether changes recommended in a 2021 state-ordered investigation have been implemented, including efforts to move away from Confederate traditions and address racism, sexism and sexual harassment.
The task force must complete its findings by Nov. 30 and report back to the General Assembly and Gov. Abigail Spanberger by the start of the 2027 legislative session.
“I don’t fear a fair and balanced investigation of what we’re doing,” said VMI Superintendent Lt. General David Furness.
“We have made tremendous progress. My predecessor completed 34 out of 42 recommendations of the Barnes & Thornburg investigation. And the rest of them are ongoing,” Furness said.
Initial language threatening VMI’s state funding and dissolving the Board of Visitors has been removed from the bills, but Cline and Griffith say they still have concerns.
“The institute should be able to continue to provide that great quality education that it’s provided for so many years,” Cline said.
“We want the president and Secretary Hegseth taking a look at them and seeing what impacts they would have on VMI and other military programs, not just Virginia, but across the country,” Griffith said.