Virginia’s Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell says he supports a controversial plan to grant the District budget autonomy in exchange for congressionally imposed restrictions like limits on taxpayer-funded abortions.

In a letter obtained by The Washington Examiner, McDonnell told House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, also a Virginia Republican, and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., that he is concerned about the effects of a federal government shutdown on Virginians who commute into the capital.