On January 16, 2010, McDonnell was inaugurated as the 71st governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, succeeding Kaine as governor.
This was the first inaugural ceremony to occur on the newly renovated steps of the Virginia State Capitol.
In keeping with tradition, McDonnell signed executive orders after taking the oath.
Instead of keeping with a 30-year practice by signing an executive order banning discrimination in state employment (which he later signed on February 5), McDonnell signed orders establishing a Commission on job creation and a Virginia Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring.

Two of McDonnell's appointments drew criticism.
On May 7, 2010, McDonnell appointed Fred Malek to chair the 31-member advisory commission on reforming state government created by one of his initial executive orders.
On May 10, 2010, several Democratic members of the Legislature criticized the appointment due to Malek's controversial actions while personnel director in the Nixon administration and due to a 2007 SEC investigation settlement.
On May 25, 2010, McDonnell was asked about the Malek appointment, and stated that he was unaware of Malek's role in the Nixon administration, a remark which State Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) told The Washington Post that McDonnell's claim was "absolutely stunning and, frankly, beyond belief."
McDonnell also nominated Robert C. Sledd to Secretary of Commerce and Trade, but withdrew the nomination in the face of bipartisan opposition prompted by Sledd's refusal to give up paid outside corporate directorships.

On January 27, 2010, McDonnell delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address.
The response was delivered to GOP lawmakers, and invited friends in the chamber of the Virginia House of Delegates.
Critics argued that the use of House chamber for McDonnell's speech did not comply with House Rule 82.

After his election as governor, McDonnell shifted his fundraising activities to his "Opportunity Virginia PAC" which raised $1,194,934 through June 2010.
Many of the donations came from industries regulated by the state.

In April 2010, McDonnell renegotiated and extended a contract for outsourcing the state's computer operations to Northrop Grumman.
At that time, McDonnell proposed legislation, which was passed, to have the Virginia Information Technologies Agency report directly to the governor instead of to an independent board.
Subsequently, McDonnell was criticized when the Northrup computer systems experienced a week-long computer outage from August 25 through September 2, 2010.
As a result, 45,000 people were unable to renew their driver's licenses.
Computer systems for nearly a third of the state's agencies were affected.
Over 4,000 people had to return to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get their photos retaken after an August 25 computer outage left their original photos unrecoverable.
The system had also experienced a prior unrelated outage on August 9.
Subsequently, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay $250,000 to fund a state investigation of the computer outage.

The 2010 session of the General Assembly passed a bill exempting certain veterans' organizations from the registration and reporting requirements that apply to most charities that solicit donations in Virginia.
The bill was introduced at the request of Bobby Thompson, director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), who made large contributions to certain Republican candidates.
After the bill passed both the House and Senate, newspaper accounts of that charity's questionable practices caused a sponsor of the bill to request McDonnell to veto it, but he signed the bill into law anyway.
As a result, the organization, which was under investigation in New Mexico (which barred the USNVA before the Virginia bill was signed), Florida, and Missouri, as well as other non-profit veterans' organizations, did not have to report to Virginia on how they spend the donations that they receive.
McDonnell later donated to charity the $5,000 campaign contribution that he had received
On January 16, 2010, McDonnell was inaugurated as the 71st governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, succeeding Kaine as governor. This was the first inaugural ceremony to occur on the newly renovated steps of the Virginia State Capitol. In keeping with tradition, McDonnell signed executive orders after taking the oath. Instead of keeping with a 30-year practice by signing an executive order banning discrimination in state employment (which he later signed on February 5), McDonnell signed orders establishing a Commission on job creation and a Virginia Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring.
Two of McDonnell's appointments drew criticism. On May 7, 2010, McDonnell appointed Fred Malek to chair the 31-member advisory commission on reforming state government created by one of his initial executive orders. On May 10, 2010, several Democratic members of the Legislature criticized the appointment due to Malek's controversial actions while personnel director in the Nixon administration and due to a 2007 SEC investigation settlement. On May 25, 2010, McDonnell was asked about the Malek appointment, and stated that he was unaware of Malek's role in the Nixon administration, a remark which State Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) told The Washington Post that McDonnell's claim was "absolutely stunning and, frankly, beyond belief." McDonnell also nominated Robert C. Sledd to Secretary of Commerce and Trade, but withdrew the nomination in the face of bipartisan opposition prompted by Sledd's refusal to give up paid outside corporate directorships.
On January 27, 2010, McDonnell delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address. The response was delivered to GOP lawmakers, and invited friends in the chamber of the Virginia House of Delegates. Critics argued that the use of House chamber for McDonnell's speech did not comply with House Rule 82.
After his election as governor, McDonnell shifted his fundraising activities to his "Opportunity Virginia PAC" which raised $1,194,934 through June 2010. Many of the donations came from industries regulated by the state.
In April 2010, McDonnell renegotiated and extended a contract for outsourcing the state's computer operations to Northrop Grumman. At that time, McDonnell proposed legislation, which was passed, to have the Virginia Information Technologies Agency report directly to the governor instead of to an independent board. Subsequently, McDonnell was criticized when the Northrup computer systems experienced a week-long computer outage from August 25 through September 2, 2010. As a result, 45,000 people were unable to renew their driver's licenses. Computer systems for nearly a third of the state's agencies were affected. Over 4,000 people had to return to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get their photos retaken after an August 25 computer outage left their original photos unrecoverable. The system had also experienced a prior unrelated outage on August 9. Subsequently, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay $250,000 to fund a state investigation of the computer outage.
The 2010 session of the General Assembly passed a bill exempting certain veterans' organizations from the registration and reporting requirements that apply to most charities that solicit donations in Virginia. The bill was introduced at the request of Bobby Thompson, director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), who made large contributions to certain Republican candidates. After the bill passed both the House and Senate, newspaper accounts of that charity's questionable practices caused a sponsor of the bill to request McDonnell to veto it, but he signed the bill into law anyway. As a result, the organization, which was under investigation in New Mexico (which barred the USNVA before the Virginia bill was signed), Florida, and Missouri, as well as other non-profit veterans' organizations, did not have to report to Virginia on how they spend the donations that they receive. McDonnell later donated to charity the $5,000 campaign contribution that he had received
Bob McDonnell