Spanberger awards $5 MILLION to husband's firm for Virginia Advanced Propulsion Facilities project

It has been revealed that Democrat Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed off on grants totaling $18 million to help a company where her husband works in expanding its operations in Orange County, $5 million of which will be awarded to the company directly. The grants will help build the Virginia Advanced Propulsion Facilities in Orange County.

L3Harris, an aerospace technology company as well as a defense contractor, had announced an over $1 billion expansion for solid rocket motor production capacity at the company's site in Orange County. The grants are part of the project expansion.

"Governor Spanberger approved two grants of $12.5 million and $500,000 from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Orange County with the projects. The Governor also approved a performance-based grant of $5 million from the Virginia Investment Performance Grant, an incentive that encourages continued capital investment by existing Virginia companies. Funding and services to support L3Harris’ employee training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program," a press release from Spanberger's office said.

Grants that go through the Virginia Investment Performance Grant program are given to companies to encourage more investment, but firms are required to hit job creation as well as other performance metrics. Grants through the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund help the city coordinate with the project. 

Adam Spanberger, the husband of the governor, works for L3Harris, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is a lead software engineer at L3Harris.

“I congratulate L3Harris on its historic expansion in Central Virginia,” Spanberger said about the project. “With a deep talent pipeline and strong track record in the defense and advanced manufacturing sectors, the Commonwealth is ready to fill the hundreds of new positions coming to Orange County. L3Harris exemplifies the kind of partnership that builds the future of Virginia, and we look forward to celebrating this investment for many years to come.”

The investment programs that fund the grant programs are funded by taxpayer dollars. The new grants build on the expansion of the firm that Youngkin had announced in 2024.

Spanberger has faced recent controversy in Virginia as her approval ratings have dropped significantly since being elected. Spanberger was elected by 15 points in November but has only a plus-one approval rating as of the end of March. The drop in numbers comes as Democrats in Virginia have pushed for massive tax increases as well as redistricting after Spanberger ran on a platform of affordability and said she had no intentions of redistricting the state.