ST. CROIX — The chairman of the Republican Party in the Virgin Islands has expressed confidence in the territory’s relationship with the incoming Trump administration to advance the interests of the Virgin Islands as the party prioritizes its platform on crime, education, and energy.
John Yob, who has led the Republican Party in the Virgin Islands for nearly seven months, highlighted the strong ties between VI Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump as Republicans will control both chambers of Congress and the White House come January 2025.
Additionally, the territory’s Democratic governor said during his weekly press briefing today that he will be meeting with key members of Congress as well as with officials from President Joe Biden’s administration and Trump’s incoming administration to continue pushing for support to address issues affecting Virgin Islanders, including an extension of the rum cover-over rate, removing the territory’s cap on Medicaid, restarting the oil refinery on St. Croix, and securing disaster recovery funding.
Yob said the territory’s Republicans have had a fantastic relationship with Trump and his campaign for years.
“I’m very confident that Republicans in the Virgin Islands have an excellent relationship with the incoming administration, better than probably ever before in history, and therefore we will be able to use those relationships to better the circumstances between the federal government and the U.S. Virgin Islands,” Yob said. “That begins with making recommendations for presidential-level appointments.”
Yob said the local Republican Party will go through the process of determining what individuals to recommend for presidential-level appointments.
“There are plenty of good and qualified people in the U.S. Virgin Islands to fill those appointments, and we look forward to making those considerations and recommendations in the near future,” he said.
Yob was elected as the party’s chairman at a special meeting of the Republican State Committee held on May 3 that coincided with the resignation of Gordon Ackley from the position.
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Yob said the bond between Republicans in the Virgin Islands and Trump is evidenced by the Republican National Committee successfully suing the Virgin Islands Board of Elections.
“I’m hopeful that the adversarial relationship between the RNC and the Board of Elections is in the past, and that would allow us to move forward with a friendly relationship with the administration,” he said.
The Republican National Committee and Republican Party in the Virgin Islands won a civil lawsuit filed August 2, 2022 in District Court against the VI Board of Elections and Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes. The RNC and local GOP won the lawsuit after challenging the constitutionality of several provisions of the Virgin Islands Code that directly and extensively regulated their internal party governance, operations, and selection of party leaders.
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While highlighting the strong relationship the territory’s Republicans have with Trump, Yob emphasized that the Republican Party in the Virgin Islands moved up the date of its caucus to February 8. He said the caucus got moved ahead of the South Carolina primary to help Trump gain momentum to secure the GOP presidential nomination as he faced his last major rival Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor from 2011 to 2017, in her home state.
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Yob noted that Trump thanked him and other Republicans in the Virgin Islands for their support in the local Republican Party’s third-in-the-nation caucus, during which Yob was elected as Republican national committeeman.
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Yob stressed that the local GOP agenda focuses on core issues such as safer streets, better education for students, and more cost-effective and efficient power generated by the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority.
“It’s a very similar agenda to what President Trump ran on nationally, with the inclusion, as well, of safe and efficient power — meaning WAPA,” he said.
When it comes to implementing change in the territory in line with the policies of the Republican Party on a local and national level, Yob said he anticipates that the Trump administration is going to treat the Virgin Islands fairly.
“We did a lot for the Trump campaign,” he said. “We moved up that Republican caucus, and I believe that Trump has historically treated those who have helped him very, very well.”
The governor announced today that he will be taking steps to ensure the needs of the Virgin Islands are addressed under the incoming administration. He said he has spent the last couple weeks calling friends who live in the Virgin Islands and in Washington, D.C. as well as calling in favors to make sure the Virgin Islands is well covered.
Governor Albert Bryan Jr. said he has been receiving a lot of phone calls and text messages from individuals worrying about the results of the presidential election and how the Virgin Islands is going to fare with a Republican president and a Republican-led House of Representatives and Senate. He said he will be traveling to meet with key members of Congress in addition to officials from the Biden administration and Trump’s incoming administration.
“These conversations are critical because they ensure that the federal government remains a strong partner for us, and we need them to transform our territory and improve the quality of life for all Virgin Islanders,” Bryan said. “One of the main things that we will continue to push for, however, is the rum cover over and the extension of that tax. This policy is really the lifeline of our economy and, of course, our retirement system.”
The federal government remits to the VI government every year in September the amount of rum excise taxes estimated to be collected during the next fiscal year at a capped rate of $10.50 on each proof gallon of rum exported, but Congress has traditionally extended the cover-over rate to $13.25. The funds collected at the $13.25 rate are tied into the future solvency of the Government Employees’ Retirement System through the sale of reissued rum cover-over bonds as part of a special type of corporate entity called the Matching Fund Special Purpose Securitization Corporation that was created by legislation in 2022 to keep the government’s pension system solvent over the next 30 years.
The governor said he thinks Congress will increase the cover-over rate during the Trump administration given the absence of the traditional standoff between Democrats and Republicans since both houses of Congress will be controlled by one party.
“We’re hoping that it’ll move rather quickly and we can get this attached as there is no strong opposition,” Bryan said. “So, I’m going up there to make sure we do that.”
Bryan said he will lobby for every dollar, opportunity, and resource to make sure the Virgin Islands is stronger than ever and moving in the right direction. He said while his trip focuses on the work his administration started with the Biden administration and Congress, his commitment does not stop there.
“As we transition into the Trump administration and a new Congress, I’ll continue to push for the Virgin Islands’ federal priorities,” he said. “We’ve always tried to ensure that we have friends on both sides of the aisle.”
The governor said his administration will be working with Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett on its strategy moving forward with Congress.
The Republican Party in the Virgin Islands stands ready to assist the governor with anything he needs to help the Virgin Islands with the incoming Trump administration, Yob said. He said the party would also consider lobbying on behalf of the VI government for Congress to permanently increase the rum cover-over rate.
“We are certainly open [to] that, but we would need to talk to elected officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands before making a final decision,” he said.
Yob remains optimistic the Virgin Islands will benefit under the Trump administration.
“President Trump did historically well in urban areas and Democrat areas across the country, and I believe that there is also significant support for President Trump within the U.S. Virgin Islands,” he said. “As stated previously, the administration views the Virgin Islands very positively, as evidenced by the kind words that President Trump had for us in that caucus process. And I’m confident that we will be able to use our access to Washington to further the interests of the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
