Trump reverses plan to close more than 30 mine safety offices
by Lori Kersey, West Virginia Watch
May 30, 2025
President Donald Trump’s administration has reversed course on a plan to close more than 30 mine safety offices, something union leaders and advocates said would compromise inspectors’ ability to protect coal miner’s lives.
Leases of the office, which employ coal mine inspectors, were set to end this summer along with several other federal offices under a plan by the Department of Government Efficiency.
A spokesperson for the Department of Labor confirmed Thursday that 34 Mine Safety and Health Adminsitration offices will be retained. They said the agency “has been working closely with [the General Services Administration] to ensure our MSHA inspectors have the resources they need to carry out their core mission to prevent death, illness, and injury from mining and promote safe and healthy workplaces for American miners.”
The reversal comes amid a push back from the Black Lung Association, the United Mine Workers of America, and others on what advocates called the Trump administration’s “attacks on coal miner safety.” In April, workers at the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety were put on administrative leave due to “reorganizations” at the federal level.
According to an analysis from the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, the MSHA offices that were slated to close performed more than 16,600 safety and health inspections — with more than 230 of those done in West Virginia — between February 2024 and 2025.
Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered workers from NIOSH’s Respiratory Health Division back to work, ending a reduction in force that prevented coal miners with black lung disease from having the option to transfer to less dusty areas of the mine to prevent further illness and injury.
MSHA had delayed the implementation of a new silica rule aimed at protecting coal miners from the dust that causes black lung disease. The rule was set to be effective in April but will now be effective in August.
“I’m happy they’re going to keep these MSHA offices open,” Gary Hairston, president of the National Black Lung Association, said in a news release. “We need these offices that are close to the mines so that MSHA can conduct safety inspections and respond to accidents in a timely way. Now we need MSHA to enforce the new silica rule, and we need Congress to give MSHA enough funding to do its job.”
In a statement Friday, the United Mine Workers of America, a labor union representing coal miners, said the organization is relieved by the decision but called on the Department of Labor to be transparent about which offices remain are still at risk, and to stop remaining efforts to reduce the government’s mine safety infrastructure.
“The idea that anyone would even consider shuttering dozens of MSHA field offices, most of which are located in remote mining communities, shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what it takes to keep miners safe,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said in the statement. “We’ve said from day one that cutting these offices would compromise inspectors’ ability to respond quickly to accidents, enforce safety regulations, and protect the lives of our members and their coworkers.”
In a statement Friday, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, and chair of the Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, said she was glad to hear that many of West Virginia’s MSHA offices will remain open.
“I have raised this issue directly with [Department of Labor] Secretary [Lori] Chavez-DeRemer because I was concerned about the impact these closures could have on mine safety and workers’ access to support,” Capito said. “Keeping these offices open is the right decision — and a win for miners, inspectors, and the communities they serve.”
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West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.
