Morrisey out of touch? – After series of controversial decisions, WV’s governor faces criticism from every direction
By Matthew Young, RealWV
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – At a Wednesday press conference, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced that members of West Virginia’s National Guard would be joining with other law enforcement agencies across the state in support of ICE – the highly-controversial federal “Immigration and Customs Enforcement” outfit.
Citing as many as 70 allegedly illegal immigrants detained daily in West Virginia as recently as February, Morrisey said, “I wanted to quickly signal my intent to let the state know we’re gonna stand by President Trump and his efforts to tighten up the border.”
As of Wednesday morning, Morrisey noted, the state has 88 allegedly illegal immigrants currently in custody.
Morrisey’s announcement was followed Saturday with news of an additional National Guard directive: the governor has now also ordered some 400 service personnel and equipment to Washington D.C.
“West Virginia is proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation’s capital,” Morrisey stated in a press release. “The men and women of our National Guard represent the best of our state, and this mission reflects our shared commitment to a strong and secure America.”
National Guard leadership, for their part, seem thus far supportive of the direction their current commander in chief is steering them. According to Maj. Gen. James Seward, adjutant general of the WV National Guard, “This initiative aligns with our values of service and dedication to our communities.”
“We stand ready to support our partners in the National Capital Region and contribute to the collective effort of making our nation’s capital a clean and safe environment.,” Seward noted. “The National Guard’s unique capabilities and preparedness make it an invaluable partner in this important undertaking.”
The deployment comes on the heels of last week’s attempted takeover of the Washington D.C. Police Department by President Donald Trump. Referring to his activation of some 800 National Guard personnel and his failed effort to install DEA Administrator Terrance Cole as the new “emergency police chief” as a “rescue mission.”
Trump claimed that, “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people.” And while Trump abandoned his plan to assume federal control of the city’s police force after the filing of a lawsuit, the large National Guard presence remains in place.
While speaking on Monday with Josh Blaok and David Klepper of the Associated Press, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb called the Trump Administration’s actions “unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful.”
“There is no crime emergency in the District of Columbia,” Klepper said.
The facts would seem to support Schwalb’s assertion. According to the federal Department of Justice (DOJ), Washington D.C. experienced a 35% decrease in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, culminating in the lowest rates the city has seen since 1995. And as those numbers are down an additional 26% through July 31 of this year, violent crime in the nation’s capital is the lowest it has been in nearly two generations – roving mobs of violent youth and homeless people notwithstanding.
If both Attorney General Schwalb and Trump’s own Justice Department are to be believed and there is no “crime emergency” in Washington D.C. why then has Morrisey deployed West Virginia’s resources to combat it?
That question, it appears, was answered through a social media post by Morrisey himself.
“At the request of the Trump administration, I have directed the WV National Guard to support the President’s initiative to make D.C. safe and beautiful,” Morrisey tweeted on Saturday, before reiterating his “commitment to a strong and secure America.”
Although Morrisey did state that the mission would be “funded at the federal level,” neither his comments on social media nor the National Guard’s press release included cost projections for West Virginia’s participation in the mitigation of D.C.’s alleged “crime emergency,” or any estimate of the deployment’s duration.
In addition to his announcements this week involving the National Guard, Morrisey also made headlines throughout the state in several healthcare-related matters – not the least of which was his Monday announcement of his administration’s proposed 13.5% reduction in worker’s compensation premiums. If accepted, Morrisey stated that the reduction would result in a $20 million savings to West Virginia businesses.
On Wednesday, however, Morrisey experienced significant criticism after it was announced that four of West Virginia’s seven state-owned nursing facilities had been sold off to New York based investment firm, Marx Development Group.
“The sale of these facilities will relieve the state of significant financial strain,” Morrisey said, noting that each of the four facilities currently operates at a loss of approximately $6 million per year. Morrisey’s decision to sell the facilities would appear to have been made without legislative-input, leading Senate President Randy Smith – who also serves as West Virginia’s Lt. Governor – claiming to have been “blindsided” by the move.
“That’s a little bit of a sore spot for me, not being at least notified or being involved in the negotiations,” Smith said, in an interview with WV News.
Morrisey, for his part, seemed to blame the media for the controversy surrounding what he called “another huge victory in our effort to repurpose government,” by accusing reporters of “stirring up non-stories.”
“Selling off the state facilities has been pending for many years because politicians were afraid to act,” Morrisey wrote Friday on Facebook. “And some media are simply complicit in retaining the status quo to make money stirring up non-stories.”
It is unclear which “non-story” Morrisey believes West Virginia’s reporters are utilizing as an alternative revenue stream. While he blames the media, at least in part, for the negative public response to the sale of the nursing facilities, he also seemingly uses its reporting as justification for it.
“The state was bleeding money on these facilities and not doing a great job in this area,” Morrisey states in his Facebook post. “Folks only need to Google the words ‘scalding water’ and ‘West Virginia’ to understand that fact. Anyone interested in debating this deal can discuss that with us.”
Morrisey’s “scalding water” comment was made in reference to the January incident at Terra Alta’s Hopemont Hospital in which a non-verbal, elderly man lost his life after being left unattended for too long in a tub of water that reached 134 degrees. When performing a Google search on the combination of words stated by the governor, reports filed by West Virginia Watch, WV MetroNews, and Charleston-television station WSAZ, and West Virginia Public Broadcasting are the first four results found.
Morrisey’s statement of “Anyone interested in debating this deal can discuss that with us” is equally as unclear.
One Facebook user stated that “If they were sold to private, non-profit healthcare companies I might believe what you said,” before asking the governor, “You do understand how for-profit healthcare works, right?”
Morrisey’s response was as confusing as it was telling.
“Scalding water. West Virginia. Look that up,” Morrisey said.
Additional healthcare-related criticism was levelled at the governor’s office this week in the form of a statement from the President of West Virginia’s Board of Education (BOE), Paul Hardesty, although Hardesty’s remarks came as less of a verbal jab and more of an uppercut landing squarely beneath Morrisey’s chin.
Since the issuance of his executive order to nullify the state’s school vaccination requirements in an effort to circumvent legislative authority, Morrisey has found himself locked in a war of both words and litigation with West Virginia’s top public school officials.
“This board holds a function to adhere to current law,” Hardesty said during Wednesday’s monthly BOE meeting. “The chief executive, who continually refers to us as unelected bureaucrats – and I take offense to that, we are appointed by a governor, we are confirmed through the advice and consent of the Senate, two branches of government, a checks and balance system, that vet each one of us before we take these seats – does not have the right or the ability to perform the judicial branch of government’s function.”
In response, Morrisey seemed to imply that Hardesty’s authority over the state’s public schools may be something the governor attempts to limit, saying, “We’re gonna have to have a lot of broader discussions about the role of the school board, because we need to make sure that there’s political accountability with all officials in West Virginia government.”
RealWV will provide updates updates regarding each of these developing situations as additional information is made available.
