CHARLESTON, WV – West Virginia’s House Democrats held a press conference on Thursday, urging Republican officials to stand up and do something to help the state’s residents.
House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, began the press conference by noting that the stock market has dropped “1,200 points and counting.”
“Some of you may wonder, ‘What does this have to do with anything?’ “It’s about us West Virginians,” Hornbuckle said. “It is affecting each and every one of us as a direct result of the Trump tariffs.”
Hornbuckle went on to say that in West Virginia, Republican strategies such as the Trump administration’s tariffs and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have resulted in the loss of over 840 jobs since the legislative session began.
While jobs are lost, grocery store prices continue to rise, he said, claiming that the Republican supermajority has not stood up to stop this.
“We’ve seen it many times before. “They refuse to stand up for everyday hardworking West Virginians, whether at the state house or in our federal delegation, for whatever reason,” Hornbuckle said. “And it’s about time that it stops.”
He stated that assisting West Virginians should be a nonpartisan issue.
“If you are unable to put food on the table, we want to make sure that we’re doing everything in our power to stand up to the Trump administration and Elon Musk,” Hornbuckle told the crowd. “At this point, they have been hesitant to do so. So, we’re asking them to do that, and we need to act quickly.”
Del. John Williams, D-Monongalia, spoke next, claiming that “partisanship is a blight in our political discourse.”
According to Williams, the legislature has “done nothing to mitigate those job losses.” He admitted that it can be difficult to do.
“Let’s not pretend like on our former governor’s last day, when he gave his farewell address, we didn’t have people running up to the front to take pictures with their best buddy with their arm around him,” Williams said about Jim Justice, a current U.S. senator. “If you’re that close with him, send him a message and tell him to stick up for our people.”
Nothing will change, according to Williams, unless Republicans start standing up for the people who elected them rather than competing for “MAGA member of the month”.
“The stock market is tanking. “People are predicting a recession within the next year,” Williams added. “My goodness, it may happen within the next six months. Tariffs are killing the market. Tariffs are causing job losses at Novelis and the Leer mine in Barbour County.
The federal government is laying off employees, and it’s not just because they’re taking jobs away from our community. NIOSH [National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health] did important work for the people of West Virginia, a state where worker safety has a long history of being ignored.
NIOSH pioneered black lung inspections for coal miners throughout West Virginia, and now those people will go unserved.”
Williams stated that people are suffering, and that Republicans must do what is right for them.
Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, joined his House colleagues for the press conference.
According to Garcia, he has spoken with Novelis employees who have recently lost their jobs, and despite what some may claim (including Gov. Patrick Morrisey), tariffs are partially to blame for these job losses.
“We had a vote, I believe yesterday, in the United States Senate, where, incredibly, four Republicans came over with all of the Democrats and said, ‘We should repeal that tariff policy,'” Garcia explained. “But you know two Republicans who didn’t vote that way: Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice. And that is unforgiveable.
Finally, Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, spoke, claiming that Republicans’ silence is deafening.
“Just last week unelected bureaucrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fat-shamed our governor to his face,” Fluharty told the crowd. “And, he didn’t even stand up for himself, much like he’s not standing up for West Virginians right now.”
Fluharty went on to say that while all of this was going on, the state’s House Republicans introduced a resolution declaring December 14 as “Frosty the Snowman Day.”
“They had to pull it because they’re so damn embarrassed by their own conduct,” Fluharty told the audience. “And, they should be embarrassed, and every West Virginian should be as angry as we are today.”
“If it was an ass-kissing contest, they’d win,” Fluharty added. “They are winning. “There’s so much winning.”
He concluded by stating that West Virginians deserve a rebate for the current legislative session because Republicans “haven’t done anything.”
The last day of the legislative session is April 12.
