Hancock County Delegate cut off during remarks to United Steel Workers at Weirton press conference

By Matthew Young, RealWV

WEIRTON, W.Va. – A day which began with the announcement that nearly 1,000 displaced USW-represented workers in the Weirton area have been hoping for, ended with a politicized diatribe from Del. Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock.

In a Monday morning press release, steel manufacturer Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced that it will transition its Half Moon Industrial Complex in Weirton from a tinplate production facility, to an electrical distribution transformer plant. The complex has been shuttered since February of this year, following the company’s decision to cease tinplate production. This decision resulted in the loss of some 900 local jobs. 

Once operations are resumed in the first half of 2025, the plant will begin production of three-phase distribution transformers used in electric power distribution systems. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $150 million, $50 million of which will be provided by the State of West Virginia in the form of a forgivable loan. Cleveland-Cliffs further said Monday that it hopes to provide re-employment opportunities for approximately 600 union workers.

In a subsequent press conference Monday afternoon, W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice, head of Cleveland-Cliffs Lourenco Goncalves, and W.Va. State Treasurer Riley Moore applauded both the company’s dedication to its employees, as well as the state’s willingness to make financial investments in its future. Gonclaves explained that the transition away from tinplates presents a unique opportunity, as distribution transformers are in “short supply” globally. 

“Our vision for Weirton is to develop a first-of-a-kind center of excellence for transformer manufacturing that will provide good paying, middle class jobs to skilled workers, and will service our country’s electrical infrastructure needs,” Gonclaves added.

McGeehan, who was last to address those in attendance, began by praising Gonclaves, referring to him as a “fighting warrior archetype.” 

“Entailed within that archetype is a deeper sense – rightly ordered – that cares about the men under your charge,” McGeehan said. “And they don’t treat those men and women like cogs in a machine. There’s a means to an end, and it’s not all reduced to material, bottom line.”

“There’s very few of those men, unfortunately, in leadership positions today,” McGeehan added. 

McGeehan then called Cleveland-Cliffs’ decision to repurpose the old Weirton Mill a “new future for West Virginia,” but cautioned that in order to appreciate that new future, the past must not be forgotten. 

“We have a long tradition of hard work and craftsmanship that was essential for the industry and prosperity of our whole nation, really,” McGeehan said. “We maintained that work ethic here in our state […] by a love of God, family, and country, and these were the pillars of our great state.”

“In living memory, however, that tradition has been drastically interrupted by national politicians who, in the near past, have sold off our future with trade deals that earn them wealth and prestige, while leaving our families and friends in many cases jobless,” McGeehan continued, noting that this has led to an “epidemic of despair.”

“It’s into this vacuum that different forms of companies from out-of-state, promising us delivery with jobs, but only with strings attached,” McGeehan said. “There’s a distinction between Cleveland-Cliffs, and the companies I’m talking about. We were so desperate along the way for these opportunities that we overlooked the cost.”

“It’s not all about materialism – it’s not all about the bottom line,” McGeehan added. “A company, for instance, that employs, say hundreds, can be a Trojan horse if they fly rainbow flags, and insist upon so-called ‘diversity quotas,’ where entire sections of their employees must conform to some sort of version of the latest DEI, in gaining employment through those desperate times.”

“It starts to undermine our faith in the values that made us great to begin with – God, family, and country,” McGeehan noted. “If you doubt this, go ask the parents whose children are now so confused by this topsy-turvy culture that they don’t know whether they are a boy or a girl.”

It was at this point that McGeehan’s demeanor changed, and he appeared to become angry. He launched into an unrelated verbal assault of Pres. Joe Biden’s mental state, before stating that, “Cleveland-Cliffs isn’t so delusional – they’re different.”

McGeehan then shifted his attention to other topics, including immigration, a “spreading ideology that says a woman can become a man and a man can become a woman,” and “satanic tricks,” leaving Justice, who was seated beside him, looking visibly uncomfortable. Before completing his remarks, McGeehan was ushered away from the podium by a Cleveland-Cliffs employee. McGeehan could be heard telling the employee, “I want to finish.”

RealWV will provide updates regarding the status of the Weirton project as additional information becomes available.