Political Quotes

“I rise to describe an amazing journey that I took this weekend that was a powerful journey connected to my Virginia National Guard and also to issues that are very, very prominent right now in the world. We finished voting on the Senate floor a little bit before 5 a.m. on Friday, on the reconciliation bill, and, a few hours later, I went to Dulles Airport and flew to Finland, landed in Helsinki at about 1:30 on Saturday, went back to the airport at 1:30 on Monday--spent 48 hours on the ground with one of our newest NATO allies to work together with them on a number of issues. The reason for the visit over the weekend was to see my Virginia National Guard. The Virginia Guard, as in most States, are active participants in the State Partnership Program that was established back in the 1990s, where a State's Guard unit connects with the military of an allied country and engages in joint training exercises. Once Finland decided to join NATO, Virginia--which already has a partner in the State Partnership Program--reached out and said to Finland: We would like to work together with you as well. My Governor, Governor Youngkin, helped preside over the signing of this partnership program in 2024, and the Virginia Guard--about 50 members of the Guard--were engaged in the first training exercises in Finland. As Governor of Virginia, I used to be the commander in chief of the Virginia Guard.…”