CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito says she thinks the recent federal funding cuts currently being implemented by the Trump Administration will soon settle out.
Many federal programs, organizations, and positions in West Virginia claim that DOGE has already been cutting them back significantly, and it’s hurting them.
In a recent press briefing, Capito said she understands that when it starts to hit close to home, it does hurt.
Shelley Moore Capito
“The goals are great, the methods are good, but the execution is probably a little rough at this point since the president has only been in for about five to six weeks,” Capito said.
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She said the hardest hit area where DOGE has been making these cuts in the state has probably been Parkersburg after the Department of Fiscal Services there had lost over 100 jobs. However, Capito said these were probationary jobs made up of people who had been hired within the last year.
Capito said these cuts are being made so President Trump can ensure the government and government spending is running more efficiently.
The cuts have been affecting everything from Medicaid payments, to various organizations and administrations.
Capito said Trump has been clear that Medicaid and Medicare will not be touched, but he did say they will look into cases of how Medicaid dollars are potentially being abused or wasted, and adjust ways the program can continue to run without cutting benefits.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is one major institution that is being forced to close down offices and affecting state workers.
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The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil Roberts issued the following statement regarding the closures:
“The UMWA is very troubled by the announced closures of dozens of MSHA offices around the nation. The work MSHA inspectors and administrative staff do is critical in keeping miners safe at work, and ensuring they return to their families at the end of each shift.”
“It is still not clear to us if all of these offices will actually close, or if the workers there are simply being shifted to other locations. We have not heard of any reductions in force at MSHA as of yet, although if recent events elsewhere in the government are any guide that is to be expected, unfortunately,” Roberts stated.
Roberts said that it’s important to note that prior to 1969, there were no laws protecting miners at work and thousands died in mining accidents every year. He said if the government chooses not to enforce the laws they have in place now, this will put thousands of miners at risk and takes them many steps back from the progress the laws have made in the mining industry.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act program that Capito has been advocating for in the Mountain State, the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, or BEAD, has currently even been forced to take a pause.
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The program would bring $1.2 billion to connect homes and businesses in underserved and rural communities in West Virginia to high-speed broadband internet.
Capito said the problem was that the program had to go through a lot of hoops during the Biden Administration as there were a lot of DEI issues, climate issues and other add-ons that were built into the program during that time which was not the intent of Congress.
She said this prompted the Trump Administration to pause the program to look at it more closely and make sure it’s mirroring the actual need.
Capito said she hopes they decide to continue the BEAD program, however, because there is a definite need for it in West Virginia.
“I’ll be honest with you, I’m disappointed in this because West Virginia is on the cusp of getting the $1.2 billion dollars after a lot of really tough and close work, 90 thousand people are unserved, another 15 thousand are underserved in our state, so that’s quite a few people,” she said.
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She said she hopes this pause will be short, because, as it stands now, not one person has been connected yet through the BEAD program.
However, Capito said the upside is that the program is still very much on the leading-edge in West Virginia despite the pause.
“Our West Virginia Broadband Council was shown as a leader all across the country in how to write, how to make sure we’re serving the right people, that the mappings are correct, I mean, we have honestly done a fantastic job and we’re right on the cusp of getting our money,” Capito said.
Capito said she believes, though, that Trump’s Administration will sort out the programs and positions that are critical to the Mountain State and we will gradually start to see those get revived.
She said she supports DOGE and what it is doing, and believes these cuts are necessary to help alleviate some of the trillions of dollars in debt and make sure everything is running more efficiently.
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“The goal, the big goal, is government efficiencies, is making the bloated bureaucracies that we have match better what our needs are and to slim it down,” said Capito.
Federal court judges continue to try and block the Trump Administration’s efforts of freezing these grants, programs, and positions.
West Virginia has said the right things about the need to capitalize on opportunities.
The Mountaineers aren’t following through when they come about.
The latest example came Tuesday night at Kansas State, which scored 21 unanswered points in the second half before holding off a furious West Virginia charge for a 65-53 victory at Bramlage Coliseum.
“The level of urgency and desire to win a game with so much on it wasn’t where it needed to be,” West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge said on postgame radio.
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The Wildcats (12-18, 3-14) played without leading scorer PJ Haggerty, a surprise scratch with an undisclosed injury.
Although WVU (17-13, 8-9) defeated Kansas State 59-54 with Haggerty in the lineup during a January matchup in Morgantown, the Mountaineers were unable to capitalize on his absence in the rematch and fell to 1-4 in their last five games.
Both teams were dismal offensively in the opening half, which ended with West Virginia leading, 26-23.
The Mountaineers got 10 points apiece from reserve forwards Chance Moore and DJ Thomas, helping the visitors to at least somewhat overcome a starting lineup that scored six points on 3-for-15 shooting over the first 20 minutes.
“When you’re playing a team that is a little down and out, you can’t give them life and can’t give them hope,” Hodge said. “We had so many opportunities in the first half and at the beginning of the game to make some plays and entice a team that’s been struggling to maybe keep struggling.”
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After a scoreless first half, WVU guard Honor Huff made his 100th three-pointer this season with 18:33 to play, allowing the Mountaineers to lead 31-27.
West Virginia went the next 8-plus minutes without a point, and Wildcats took control during that stretch.
Khamari McGriff scored the Wildcats’ first four points of the extended 21-0 spurt and accounted for four buckets and eight of the first 15 points during that time.
A jumper from CJ Jones with 10:53 remaining left the home team with a 48-31 advantage, before Thomas scored from close range to end his team’s extended drought at the 10:27 mark.
“I’m aware of our shortcomings and I understand when you’re deficient in some areas, your margin for error to win is razor thin,” Hodge said. “I’m disappointed with what was at stake, we got beat to loose balls. Would it have been nice to make more layups and threes? Of course. But when those things aren’t happening, you better do those other things.”
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KSU had separate 19-point leads, the latter of which came at 57-38 when McGriff made two free throws with 7:29 to play.
WVU then increased its aggressiveness offensively and reeled off the next 11 points, while the Wildcats began to play tentative while in possession.
A three-pointer from K-State’s Nate Johnson left the Wildcats with a 60-49 lead with 3:48 left, but the Mountaineers continued to battle and trailed by six when Chance Moore scored in the paint at the 1:24 mark.
Moore’s next basket made it a five-point game, and after a Johnson turnover, Huff made two free throws to bring WVU to within 61-58 with 48 seconds left.
Another KSU turnover gave the visitors the ball back, but after Moore missed a shot that the Mountaineers rebounded, Huff committed a costly turnover.
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Johnson made two free throws with 17 seconds left, and McGriff added two more with 7 seconds remaining before Huff made a trey at the buzzer.
Moore led WVU with 18 points and made 6-of-7 shots, but again struggled on free throws, finishing 5 for 9. WVU hurts its cause at the charity stripe and made only 9-of-16 attempts.
Brenen Lorient was the Mountaineers’ second-leading scorer with 14 second-half points, while Thomas followed with 12 and Huff added 11 on 3-for-11 shooting.
Treysen Eaglestaff led all players with 11 rebounds in defeat, but made only 3-of-12 shots in a six-point showing.
McGriff led KSU with 18 points and added seven rebounds.
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Johnson finished with 16 points and nine boards.
WVU had nine of its 13 turnovers in the second half.
“Nine turnovers in the second half creates more busted floors, more cross match opportunities and through that, it makes you vulnerable for paint touch opportunities,” Hodge said.
K-State played under the guidance of interim head coach Matthew Driscoll. Driscoll replaced Jerome Tang, who was fired in between the team’s first and second matchups with West Virginia this season.
“Sometimes in life you get what you deserve,” Hodge said, “and we deserved to lose tonight.”
Photo: Dave Casebolt, left, signed an agreement Tuesday with West Virginia American Water Company President Scott Wyman (City of Nitro)
NITRO, W.Va. — It’s a done deal.
Nitro Mayor Dave Casebolt signed an agreement Tuesday with West Virginia American Water Company President Scott Wyman completing the sale of the Nitro Regional Wastewater Utility including the sewer plant for $20 million.
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The water utility will now own and operate the city’s water and wastewater systems. The state Public Service Commission recently approved the deal.
Casebolt said it’s good to get the long-talked-about agreement signed. He said the city can’t afford to make the improvements required at the sewer plant.
“We’re looking at needing between 40 and 50 million dollars of upgrades to our system and expecting our four-thousand customer base to try to offset those costs is not even practical,” Casebolt said.
Casebolt said sewer bills are going to go up but he said they were going to go up regardless. He said the city was facing increasing rates by as much as 50 percent.
West Virgina American is planning $42 million in upgrades to the sewer system over the next five years, Casebolt said.
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“It’s a much-need investment and actually allow the system to handle rainwater much better where it’s not backing up into people’s homes,” Casebolt said.
The results are in for the West Virginia Lottery’s draw games on Monday, March 2, 2026.
Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 2.
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
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Winning Lotto America numbers from March 2 drawing
03-08-17-24-34, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Daily 3 numbers from March 2 drawing
7-4-8
Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Daily 4 numbers from March 2 drawing
1-1-9-6
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Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 25 numbers from March 2 drawing
02-03-05-07-19-22
Check Cash 25 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the West Virginia Lottery drawings held?
Powerball: 11 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:59 p.m. ET Tuesday and Friday.
Lotto America: 10:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Daily 3, 4: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday.
Cash 25: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
