State Inspector General June Jennings, Virginia’s top government watchdog, soon could be out of a job, after the Republican-controlled House of Delegates on Wednesday refused to reappoint her and accused her office of failing to investigate the case of a mentally ill man who died in jail.
The move to single out Jennings and strip her name from a list of hundreds of gubernatorial appointees subject to typically rote legislative confirmation caught House Democrats off guard and elicited a swift rebuke from Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who issued a statement accusing the body’s majority party of hypocrisy.
“I am outraged that House Republicans are trying to fire a qualified public servant over a tragic matter for which she and her office bear absolutely zero responsibility,” McAuliffe said, referring to the death of 24-year-old Jamycheal Mitchell at Hampton Roads Regional Jail in 2015.
