Her comments come months after her administration intervened -without public notice - in rulemaking started by her predecessor, Republican Glenn Youngkin. In October 2025 Youngkin asked the Virginia Board of Health to “protect and preserve the… public health of women and girls,” by making a rule to limit trans girls’ ability to participate in sports and use bathrooms and locker rooms.

“There’s no legal authority to move forward with rulemaking and prior administrations may have tried to create lanes and we’re not doing that,” Gov. Abigail Spanberger said.

No news release was issued when the proposed rulemaking effort was withdrawn, and Radio IQ’s reporting is the first on the matter. As for the discretion, those close to Spanberger said the governor didn’t want to, “bring additional fights that some may be really willing to create.”