MORGANTOWN — Despite a nationwide effort by the Trump administration to eliminate government waste and streamline federal agencies, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), is pushing back — not against bureaucracy, but in defense of it.
In a formal letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Capito criticized the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) recent restructuring that led to hundreds of job cuts at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) facility in Morgantown, a move the administration says is long overdue.
NIOSH is primarily a research agency. It is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and focuses on researching and recommending solutions to prevent work-related illnesses and injuries. It does not contribute to the enforcement of coal mine safety standards, and is a non-regulatory agency.
“Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said on March 27. “This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves. That’s the entire American public, because our goal is to Make America Healthy Again.”
“We aren’t just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic. This Department will do more – a lot more – at a lower cost to the taxpayer.”
Capito, however, is attempting to reverse those cuts, arguing that NIOSH’s work is indispensable — even as the agency has a long history of funding controversial and questionably useful research projects. These studies include Reducing Workplace Violence in Gas Stations and Convenience Stores: for Employees, Reducing Hearing Loss in Recycling Workers, and The Effectiveness of No-Nose Bicycle Seats in Reducing Groin Pressure and Improving Sexual Health— programs that critics argue waste taxpayer money, while the reputable studies duplicate efforts handled elsewhere.
Political observers view Sen. Capito’s public defense of the NIOSH coal programs as a strategic move to undermine President Trump’s standing with coal miners in West Virginia. By emphasizing the momentary hiatus of free black lung screenings and framing the cuts as an attack on miner health, Capito appears to be leveraging fear and uncertainty to distance herself from the administration’s broader effort to streamline federal agencies. While the Department of Health and Human Services has clarified that the changes are part of a government-wide restructuring and consolidation of overlapping programs, Capito’s messaging suggests a deliberate attempt to portray the Trump administration as abandoning coal communities — a narrative some say misrepresents the true intent of the reforms.
“I believe in the President’s vision to right size our government, but I do not think eliminating the NIOSH coal programs and research will accomplish that goal,” Capito wrote. “The mission and work conducted by the specially trained NIOSH employees is not duplicative of any other government program.”
Capito’s defense of the embattled agency puts her at odds, once again, with the Trump administration. Her letter, which follows several calls with Kennedy, advocates restoring positions and programs that were identified as unnecessary or inefficient by HHS.
“I am concerned that the RIFs at NIOSH will undermine the vital health programs important to so many West Virginians,” she wrote. “I urge you to bring back the NIOSH employees immediately so they can continue to support our nation’s coal industry.”
The Morgantown facility was hit by layoffs just weeks ago as part of a broader federal effort to cut costs and eliminate redundant programs. Yet Capito, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that funds NIOSH, appears determined to preserve the status quo — even as her party seeks to change it.
Her letter emphasized a personal plea to Kennedy:
“Thank you for taking the time to talk with me regarding the important work CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) does to improve and monitor the health care of our coal miners in West Virginia,” she wrote. “During our discussion, I was pleased you agreed with me that the work happening at NIOSH is unique across the federal government.”
“Now, I ask that the Department bring back not only the functions of the NIOSH coal offices and programs, but also some of the specialized employees impacted by the April 1 HHS-wide Reduction in Force (RIF) who do this important work in Morgantown, West Virginia.”
NIOSH’s Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program has since stopped accepting new medical screening requests or low-dust job transfer reviews — services the Trump administration says should be handled more efficiently or consolidated with existing healthcare and labor programs.
Capito’s stance highlights a growing divide within the Republican Party over how far government reform should go, and whether certain programs — no matter how niche or bloated — are politically untouchable.
