CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Governor-elect Jim Justice had a 15-minute phone conversation Saturday with President-elect Donald Trump and most of the time was spent talking about coal, Justice said.
“It’s an exciting day for West Virginia because we now have a pathway to the White House and a president-elect who is totally committed to putting our coal miners back to work,” Justice said in a news release from his transition team Saturday night. “President-elect Trump made it clear that he won’t forget about West Virginia when it comes to our nation’s energy policies. I will work closely with the President-elect and his administration on clean coal technology, rolling back the job-killing EPA regulations on coal, and growing West Virginia’s other job opportunities.”
Trump asked Justice to tell West Virginians, “We are going to get those coal miners back to work,” Justice said.
The phone call came from Trump while Justice was conducting basketball practice at Greenbrier East High School. The pair also talked about tourism and other job possibilities, the news release said.
Justice said he will work with Trump to “bring new opportunities to West Virginia families.”
“He also shared with me how much he cares about the people of West Virginia. Just as President-elect Donald J. Trump reached out to me, I am reaching out to Democrats and Republicans in the legislature to put aside party politics and pull the rope together to turn this state around,” Justice said.