WASHINGTON – Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell believes the U.S. will not avert sequestration and automatic spending cuts will go into effect on March 1.

“Everyone knew this was coming for 18 months,” he said on Tuesday while a guest on WTOP’s “Ask the Governor” show. “It looks like it’s going to happen.”

McDonnell, a Republican, was strongly critical of President Barack Obama, saying the president “shouldn’t be running around doing press conferences. He should be locked in a room figuring this thing out.”

He says his state has been preparing for what he calls “haphazard” spending cuts and has allocated money to help localities cope with the changes. But, he does not support raising taxes to help the federal government pay its bills.

“I’d rather have them do what they said they were going to do,” McDonnell said. “The bills are now due, and we need to figure out how to cut.”

McDonnell says the sequester will affect Virginians disproportionately, and that the first thing they’ll notice is furloughs in the Department of Defense, which he expects to happen immediately.

The governor answered questions on a range of topics Tuesday, including the state’s transportation bill, school reform and voter ID.

To listen to the full show, click the audio box on the right. A live blog of the show is below.

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