WHEELING, W.Va. — Former West Virginia Congressman David McKinley says he’s leaving Congress but he’ll continue to preach the message he operated under during his 12 years in office.
McKinley said one of the bigger things he can do now is educate the public on how the governing process works.
“So many say you need to do this and you need to do that–I understand but you can’t get anything done if you don’t have Democratic support,” McKinley said during a Monday appearance on MetroNews “Talkline” just hours before the new Congress was to be seated.
McKinley said only four of his 16 years in office were spent under a Republican president but he was able to get more than 36 bills through the process and signed into law in those dozen years in office..
“You’ve got to find a way to keep your principles, keep your conservative principles, but compromise to the extent that we can get something done,” McKinley said.
What is next for @RepMcKinley? What is he most proud of during his tenure as a politician? Congressman McKinley provides what is next for him with @HoppyKercheval. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nEhk6 pic.twitter.com/tbtT1TkHJF
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) January 2, 2023
McKinley, who has had a long public career including time in the state legislature and as West Virginia Republican Party chairman, said his decision to vote for the infrastructure bill in late-2021 is what cost him in his reelection attempt in the state’s new Second District but he said he wouldn’t change that vote.
“We had never had an infrastructure bill put before us and we were able to find out that we’re able to put in $6 billion into West Virginia’s infrastructure. Do I turn my back on that? No,” McKinley said.
He said he got a call from former President Donald Trump’s representatives the night before the vote and was told Trump would support Rep. Alex Mooney, McKinley’s opponent, if McKinley voted for the bill. McKinley said that cost him election but it doesn’t outweigh the impact the bill will have on the state.
“West Virginia is more important than anything else,” McKinley said Monday.
McKinley said Trump’s policies were spot on but the way he handled himself was non-presidential. He said he would support Trump for president if he wins the nomination in 2024.
“I don’t want to have another liberal individual being our president,” McKinley said. “It’s not three equal branches of government, the president is far more powerful than the congressional and judicial branches.”
West Virginia needs a president who will promote fossil fuels and help it diversify its economy,” McKinley said.
Future run?
When asked by “Talkline” Host Hoppy Kercheval if he would be a candidate for governor in 2024, McKinley, who turns 76 in March, didn’t rule it out.
“We’d have to see how things unfold with that. Would I entertain it? Absolutely. It’s all about West Virginia. How can we best help West Virginia,” he said.
Book deal may be next
McKinley said Monday that he’s been approached by a friend, Rep. Bobby Rush, a Democrat from Chicago, to co-author a book on how to lawmakers from completely different perspectives can get along and govern.
“We’ve developed a working relationship and he’s asked me if we could write a book together,” McKinley said. “How does a black member of Congress, a member of the liberal left, how can he get along with a conservative Republican from Appalachia?”
McKinley said they’ve been able to do so because they’ve governed instead of constantly campaign.
“There are too many people in Washington now that are stuck in the campaign mode and all they do is fire messaging bills,” McKinley said.