Trump Administration Reverses Closure of 34 Mine Safety Offices, Ensuring Continued Protection for Miners

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The Trump administration has reversed plans to close 34 offices of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the agency tasked with enforcing mine safety laws, according to the Department of Labor. Earlier this year, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), established by President Donald Trump, targeted federal agencies for spending cuts, including the termination of leases for 36 MSHA offices, seven of which were in Kentucky. These closures were projected to save $18 million.

A Labor Department spokesperson stated that the department has been collaborating with the General Services Administration to ensure MSHA inspectors have the necessary resources to fulfill their mission of preventing mining-related deaths, illnesses, and injuries. Although some MSHA offices remain listed for closure on the DOGE website, the statement did not confirm whether these closures will proceed.

MSHA, created by Congress in 1978 within the Labor Department, is mandated to inspect each underground mine quarterly and each surface mine twice a year. Jack Spadaro, a former mine safety investigator and environmental specialist, praised the decision, emphasizing the importance of inspectors being close to mine operations.

A review by the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center revealed that nearly 17,000 health and safety inspections were conducted by MSHA staff in the targeted offices from the start of 2024 through February 2025. MSHA has faced a 27% reduction in total staff over the past decade, including a 30% cut in enforcement staff and a 50% reduction for coal mine enforcement.

Coal industry advocates have also been working to save jobs at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered the restoration of a health monitoring program for coal miners and rescinded layoffs within NIOSH’s respiratory health division in Morgantown, West Virginia. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the reversal of the firing of about 330 NIOSH workers at a May 14 Congressional hearing.

Vonda Robinson, vice president of the National Black Lung Association, expressed relief at the administration’s decision to restore these offices, highlighting the importance of maintaining mine inspectors to protect coal miners from black lung disease and accidents.