By STEVEN ALLEN ADAMS
Staff Reporter
CHARLESTON – After weeks of speculation and questioning, Gov. Jim Justice said Thursday that he will delay being sworn in as West Virginia’s next U.S. Senator until Governor-Elect Patrick Morrisey is formally sworn in, staving off any continuity of government issues.
Speaking Thursday afternoon during his weekly administration briefing, Justice said he will resign as governor on Monday, Jan. 12, prior to the swearing in of Morrisey as West Virginia’s 37th governor.
“My whole thinking behind all this is the continuity of government is essential during transitions,” Justice said.
New members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives can be sworn in as early as Jan. 3, 2025. But the West Virginia Constitution sets the inauguration date for the governor and other constitutional officers of the executive branch for the first Monday after the second Wednesday in January, which will be Monday, Jan. 13.
Justice said he has spoken with incoming President Donald Trump, who will be sworn in for his second term and first nonconsecutive term on Monday, Jan. 20. Justice also said he spoke with U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Senate Republican leadership.
“I very much respect Governor Justice’s decision to honor his commitment to complete his term as Governor of the State of West Virginia,” Capito said in a statement Thursday. “I am looking forward to serving with Senator Justice as there is much to do to advance President Trump’s agenda on behalf of all West Virginians.”
Justice assured the public there would be no major votes that would require him to take office between Jan. 3 and Jan. 13.
“I could move on, and I could be sworn into the Senate between Jan. 3 and when President Trump takes office,” Justice said. “There’ll be some things happen, but there won’t be anything happening really until when President Trump takes office. And I’m in constant contact with President Trump.”
If Justice were to resign during the six-day period between Jan. 3 and Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, that would create a vacancy in the governor’s office, requiring Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, to assume the responsibilities of governor. The senate president carries the honorary title of lieutenant governor, but the state Constitution names the senate president the next in the line of succession.
Blair has served as senate president since 2021 following the defeat of his predecessor, former Republican Jackson County Sen. Mitch Carmichael, in the May 2020 GOP primary to current Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Amy Grady, R-Mason. But Blair was also defeated in the May 2024 primary by Berkeley County attorney Tom Willis, who won his general election contest.
Earlier this month, the Senate Republican caucus nominated Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee Chairman Randy Smith, R-Tucker, as its nominee for senate president. With only two Democratic lawmakers in the 34-member Senate, Smith’s election as senate president is almost certain.
If Justice would resign as governor prior to Jan. 8, that would mean that Smith would have also had to act as governor until Morrisey’s swearing in on Jan. 13. Justice said delaying his resignation would eliminate any confusion.
“I don’t think that…West Virginia needs to have four governors in 10 days,” Justice said. “I don’t think that should happen.”
The first and last time a senate president assumed the temporary responsibilities of governor was 2010 when Manchin — then in his second term as governor — won a special election to fill the remaining term of Democratic U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, who died earlier that year. Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, a Democratic state senator from Logan County, briefly acted as governor until he won a special election for the office in 2011.
The state Senate created the temporary position of acting senate president so that there would not be a conflict with Tomblin serving as the senate president while acting as governor. Former Democratic Marshall County Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jeffrey V. Kessler served as the acting senate president until Tomblin’s election as governor. Kessler was later elected formally as senate president, serving until the Republicans took the Senate majority in 2015.
Justice’s election on Nov. 5 helped secure a 53-seat majority for the Republicans in the Senate heading into 2025. By delaying taking his U.S. Senate seat, that will reduce Justice’s seniority position, but he said waiting to resign until Morrisey takes office is the right thing to do.
“Whether I’m right or wrong, I believe this with all my soul: The people of West Virginia elected me to this office, and they expected me to do right by them always,” Justice said. “I’ve tried to do that, and I think that I’m doing right by them right now.”
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com
