WASHINGTON — In a move raising eyebrows across West Virginia’s coal communities, Senator Shelley Moore Capito is publicly questioning the Trump administration’s handling of federal safety programs tied to coal miners—suggesting the president’s approach is “insufficient.”
At the heart of the controversy is the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) facility in Morgantown, where hundreds of employees have been notified their jobs are at risk amid a restructuring effort led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The agency, long tasked with overseeing workplace safety research and programs such as black lung screenings, faces major changes as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to streamline federal agencies and eliminate redundancy.
In a statement and subsequent comments to the press, Capito questioned whether moving or reassigning NIOSH’s programs would truly serve the needs of miners and first responders.
“We keep talking to them about it,” Capito said, referring to federal officials. “The response is always, ‘Well, we’re going to do that. It’s just going to be in a different form, and we’re going to put it under, you know, Make America Healthy Again.’ That’s an insufficient answer.”
The senator also submitted a letter to Secretary Kennedy urging the return of NIOSH staff and functions, acknowledging her support for “right-sizing” the government but stating that cutting NIOSH coal programs would not achieve that goal.
Her comments stand in contrast to those of her Republican colleague, Senator Jim Justice, who expressed full confidence in President Trump’s leadership during an appearance on MetroNews radio.
“There’s no way that President Trump, at the end of the day, is going to ask our coal miners that he really loves… to do more for the country and then jeopardize their health. There’s no way,” said Justice.
Justice, who has not yet spoken directly with Kennedy, acknowledged concerns about job losses but emphasized faith in the administration’s long-term vision. “It may be a different animal,” he said of the restructuring, “but there’s going to be a mechanism to where our coal miners are not going to be in danger, guaranteed.”
HHS maintains that no final decisions have been made and that statutory responsibilities such as the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP) will be preserved, possibly in a different form or agency. Nonetheless, a federal court is now reviewing whether the government’s actions violate federal law by pausing the mandated screenings.
Capito, for her part, insists that legal mandates are not being met.
“To obtain your black lung benefits, that is in the law. NIOSH does the certifications,” she said, warning that delays could have fatal consequences. “The more time we waste, the sicker people are going to get.”
Capito’s critics argue her rhetoric is alarmist and politically motivated, especially given her longstanding ties to the federal bureaucracy that the Trump administration is trying to reform. That scrutiny has only intensified in light of her family history.
Her father, former West Virginia Governor Arch Moore, pleaded guilty in 1990 to five federal felonies — including mail fraud, tax fraud, extortion, and obstruction of justice — for extorting more than $573,000 from Maben Energy Corporation, a coal company based in Beckley. The extortion came after Moore helped the company receive a $2 million refund from the state’s Black Lung Fund, a benefit program designed to help miners suffering from the very disease Capito now claims is at risk. Moore was fined $3.2 million but paid only $750,000 as part of a settlement. He was sentenced to nearly six years in prison and served almost three years in federal custody, followed by home confinement.
Now, critics say Capito is echoing the same insider instincts that her father once exploited — putting entrenched programs and political optics above efficient, accountable governance. While the administration insists the statutory duties of NIOSH will continue — even if relocated or restructured — Capito has continued to push for the restoration of federal jobs and functions at the Morgantown facility.
The Trump administration’s restructuring of federal agencies like NIOSH is part of a broader agenda aimed at reducing bureaucratic bloat and focusing resources more efficiently. Still, Capito’s public break from the president on this matter may signal political turbulence in a state where Trump remains deeply popular—and where coal miners will be watching closely.
