State Senator Charles Trump, R-Morgan, has resigned that body ahead of being sworn in as a newly-elected state Supreme Court justice.
“It has been the great honor and privilege of my life to serve with you and our colleagues in the Senate over these last ten years,” Trump wrote in his resignation letter. “I have loved every minute of our work together for the citizens of West Virginia. I leave with a full heart, knowing that under the continued leadership of the Senate, West Virginia has a bright future ahead.”
Trump has been the well-respected chairman of the West Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee.
His letter dated Dec. 10, which was Tuesday, indicated his resignation would be effective at 4:15 p.m. that day.
Trump, on the telephone today, said he then was sworn in for the Supreme Court that day at 5 p.m. His term of office doesn’t commence until January, though.
“But it does allow me to prepare for the cases that will be on the court’s docket when the new term commences in the first two weeks in January,” he said.
The state Republican Party has put out notification that it is accepting applications for candidates to fill out Trump’s term in the Senate for District 15.
Vacancies for the Senate are filled through appointments by the governor, through a list of three legally qualified persons submitted by the party executive committee of the same political party of the person vacating the office.
The list is to be submitted to the governor within 15 days after the vacancy occurs, and then the governor is supposed to make an appointment within five days.
If the entire process took the maximum number of days, that would put the new appointment at the end of this month. Gov. Jim Justice, who will be sworn in early next year as a U.S. Senator, would still be the one making the appointment to replace Trump on that timetable.
Trump said he did not want the district he has been representing to go without representation as the state Senate organizes Jan. 8.
“My earlier resignation, I think, allows sufficient time for a replacement for me to be appointed to the Senate,” Trump said on the telephone.
At least one other senator will also be resigning in the coming weeks. Another Republican, Mark Hunt, was elected to be state auditor and will take on that role early next year. Depending on the timing, Hunt’s replacement could be appointed by Justice or the governor-elect, Patrick Morrisey.
Both Trump and Hunt were serving Senate terms that would have concluded in 2026.
Trump assumed office in the Senate in 2014, the year control of the chamber flipped to Republicans. He served as a state delegate starting in 1992. Before that, he was the Morgan County prosecutor. He has been working in private practice as an attorney in Morgan County.
Trump and incumbent Supreme Court Justice Haley Bunn were elected to 12-year terms during last spring’s general election. Both were unopposed.
Trump ran to replace incumbent Justice John Hutchison, who chose not to run again for a term concluding at the end of 2024.
He wrote in the letter addressed to the current Senate president, Craig Blair, “I thank you and all of our fellow senators, as well as the remarkable staff of the Senate, for the friendship and many kindnesses that have always been extended to me by everyone. All of you are a perfect reflection of the fundamental goodness of the people of West Virginia. I love you all.”