Northam's Office Reportedly Calls Emergency Meeting

Beth Baumann | February 03, 2019 7:31 PM

UPDATE

Right now, the possibility of Northam resigning is mere speculation. According to The Washington Post, Northam is still weighing his options:

People familiar with the meeting said the governor had not reached a final decision about his fate. It was unclear who was there, besides that it involved senior staffers of color. But Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who would become governor if Northam resigned, was not there, the people said.
Calling the Sunday night meeting was a clear signal of Northam’s effort to weigh support within the administration as he evaluates his options. Though he pledged on Saturday to stand his ground, he also said he would reconsider if he felt he could no longer be effective. Just a day later, resignation is an active consideration, the people said.
Before the meeting, Northam spent much of the day in seclusion at his family home on the Eastern Shore as confidantes delivered conflicting advice about whether he should resign or continue fighting to clear his name, according to people close to the governor.

ORIGINAL POST

This is one of those scenarios that is ironically funny. Yesterday, a friend texted me about Gov. Ralph Northam's potential resignation. Did I think it was going to happen and if so, when. My thought, as a former publicist, was that his team would decide to do it during the Super Bowl, when most Americans are glued to the football game.

According to ABC News, Northam's team called a last minute, emergency meeting.

BREAKING: @ABC has learned that Governor Northam has called his top-level staff, including cabinet members and the Lt Governor, for an “urgent meeting” at this hour. No details yet on what’s being discussed.
— Kristin Smith (@kristin8news) February 3, 2019

And the meetings included Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, suggesting they're preparing for him to take over.

BREAKING: ?@abcnews? says Gov Ralph Northam is calling for “an urgent” top level meeting of his staff this hour, including Lt. Gov Justin Fairfax. #northam #meeting #rva pic.twitter.com/b8RuXM3Nri
— Richard Reeve (@abc7Richard) February 3, 2019

This is a breaking news story. As more information becomes available, this post will be updated.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story stated Northam’s team would have him resign during the Super Bowl. That was incorrect. We apologize for the error.