Youngkin rolls out more cabinet members, key staffers

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin is continuing to build out his cabinet and staff with a mix of experienced professionals from both the government and private sector ahead of his Jan. 15 inauguration.
The political newcomer announced a handful of key appointees this week, including his chief of staff, counselor, secretary of veterans and defense affairs and secretary of agriculture and forestry.
“I am excited to welcome this group of leaders with a record of experience and serving others. These qualified individuals with various backgrounds bring vast experience that ensure we will deliver on our Day One promises,” Youngkin said in a news release Monday, when he rolled out four key staffers.
Among them was Jeff Goettman, who has served as the transition director post-election and has been tapped to serve as chief of staff, according to the news release.
Goettman formerly worked in private equity, at the U.S. Department of Treasury and as the executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
Richard Cullen, a prominent Richmond lawyer and former Virginia attorney general, will serve as counselor to the governor, the news release said.
Cullen has spent most of his nearly 50-year career at McGuireWoods, where he is currently a senior partner, leaving only to serve as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia from 1991 to 1994 and as Virginia’s attorney general from 1997 to 1998, according to a news release from the firm.
He specialized in government investigations and white collar defense at McGuireWoods, representing such clients as then-Vice President Mike Pence in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
On Tuesday, Youngkin announced the selection of Craig Crenshaw as secretary of veterans and defense affairs of Virginia. Crenshaw, who retired from the Marine Corps as a major general, has over 30 years of experience in logistics products and services, the news release said.
He also announced that Matt Lohr, a former state delegate, fifth-generation farmer and former Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, would serve as his secretary of agriculture and forestry.
Youngkin also announced this week the selection of:
— Rebecca Glover, who most recently worked on media relations campaigns the Brunswick Group, as deputy chief of staff and communications director.
— Eric Moeller, currently a partner at McKinsey & Company, as “chief transformation officer,” a role not described in the transition news release.
— Joseph Guthrie, a Virginia farm owner, former Fulbright Scholar and instructor at Virginia Tech, as Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
— Daniel Gade, who retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel, ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2020 and works as a professor at American University, as Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services.
Youngkin, who defeated former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe in November, will become the first Republican to serve as governor since Bob McDonnell, who was elected in 2009.