Capito: “I Disagree Strongly With Trump’s Agency Cuts”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia expressed her dissatisfaction Thursday with federal agency cuts that have affected her state.

Capito told a group of statewide journalists that she had “strong disagreements” with the Trump administration’s approach to cutting federal agencies with a presence in the state.

She said she’d be speaking with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about layoffs this week at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Morgantown.

This agency has worked to improve the safety and health of coal miners.

“I understand getting rid of duplications and over extensions and bloat, but in this case, I have strong disagreements with the administration,” Capito told reporters, “and I will tell you that I will be having a phone call with him in the next two hours.”

She stated that she had yet to receive satisfactory answers regarding the termination of office leases at the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

“As you can imagine, everything is going rather rapid here, and it’s hard to get straight answers sometimes, which is discouraging for a U.S. Senator,” said Capito, “so I don’t have any additional information on that.”

Capito has expressed broad support for the Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts across the federal government, but on Thursday she stated that some cuts were too severe.

“I think that in the end, we’re hoping for a government that works better for the people and is more responsive.”

Capito stated that 41 probationary workers had been rehired at the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Morgantown, out of 51 who had been laid off.

However, she expressed concern about staff cuts at an agency that provides heating and cooling assistance to tens of thousands of West Virginians.

“We haven’t gotten satisfactory answers yet, or any definitive answers, but I can assure you, this program will be moving forward,” said Capito. “and I want those West Virginians that are on this program or rely on it to have some assurance that I’m going to do everything within my power to make sure that money is available to them.”

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