Ryan's District Boards

By Gary Robertson RICHMOND Va. (Reuters) - Hopes to expand Medicaid in Virginia have dimmed with the Democrats' loss of the state Senate through a surprise resignation, a top Democratic lawmaker said on Tuesday. Legislators are set to return from a break on Thursday to vote on a two-year budget that Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe had tied to opening Medicaid to another 400,000 people. Without a budget Virginia faces a possible government shutdown on July 1. The resignation of Democratic Senator Phillip Puckett on Monday gave Republicans control of the state Senate and ended a deadlock with McAuliffe over expanding Medicaid, the federal healthcare program for the poor.