Senator Joe Manchin III

I’m heartbroken to hear of the passing of my dear friend, former Congressman David McKinley.

From our time together in the West Virginia House of Delegates to, more recently, the United States Congress, David and I could always call on each other when it mattered most for our state. When I was first elected as a state representative in 1982, David was the first person who befriended me and welcomed me to the state Capitol. David, Mary, Gayle and I formed a lifelong friendship that we will forever cherish.

I was proud to fight alongside David and West Virginia’s mining families to secure passage of the American Miners Pension Act in 2019. And David’s decades of civil engineering expertise was invaluable as we developed, and later passed, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - a historic, $1.2 trillion investment that will continue to benefit West Virginians and Americans for generations to come.

David dedicated his life and career to moving West Virginia forward and creating a better quality of life for our people. I will forever be grateful for his service and our friendship. The State of West Virginia is in a better place today because of the dedicated service of David McKinley.

Please join Gayle and I in praying for David’s wife, Mary; his four children, six grandchildren, and all of his family, friends, former colleagues, and loved ones, as we mourn this tremendous loss.

I'm saddened to hear of the passing of Rev. Jim Lewis, a longtime member of the Charleston community who worked tirelessly to feed the hungry and make his city — and our state — a better place.

Jim and I met many times during my time as governor and as a U.S. Senator. First and foremost on Jim’s mind was how he could help those who had no one speaking up for them. The respect and civility Jim showed to everyone — even those he disagreed with — was to be admired.

Jim leaves a tremendous legacy of giving a hand-up to those who are less fortunate, and I'm thankful for his lifetime of volunteerism that has made a difference in the lives of so many of our neighbors. Please join me in praying for Jim's family, friends, and loved ones as we celebrate his life and the legacy he has left on our state.

Today, we honor and remember the 29 brave coal miners who were killed in the Upper Big Branch mine disaster 16 years ago today. Please join Gayle and me in honoring their memory, and praying for their families, friends, and loved ones as we all continue to grieve this tragic loss.

When Democrats wanted to eliminate the filibuster in 2022, I stood my ground because I understood the consequences of turning the Senate into a glorified House with simple majority rule. Senator John Cornyn said of Democrats at the time: “They'll soon find themselves rueing the day their party broke the Senate.”

The filibuster exists to make both sides work together and produce good legislation that can withstand the test of time. Eliminating the filibuster would consolidate even more power into the hands of the majority party’s leadership — and take power away from the minority and everyday Americans.

When I was a U.S. Senator, there was not another person more committed to keeping the filibuster than Senator John Cornyn. He understood the incredible political pressure I faced from my former party to get rid of the filibuster and give Democrats complete power — and at the time, he understood why neither party should take our country past this point of no return.

The filibuster — the soul of the Senate — has preserved the Senate’s role for nearly 250 years as the institution that cools passions, protects minority voices, and demands consensus. America was built on institutions designed to resist political convenience, not surrender to it.

It’s deeply disappointing to see that Senator Cornyn is now willing to scrap the very rule he once praised and personally thanked me for defending. These extreme election-year politics that put party power over everything else are why Americans are sick and tired of the duopoly of the two-party system of Democrats and Republicans.

It was an honor to meet Hilary Knight, captain of the United States women's national ice hockey team, and congratulate her & all of our women’s ice hockey players for making our country proud at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Congratulations, Hilary, and all of our Team USA athletes, on your incredible accomplishments at Milano Cortina 2026!

I was proud to be alongside my granddaughter, Kelsey Kirby, for a fireside chat on the campus of Georgetown University this week. Our conversation focused on my experience remaining “dead center” in a polarized time, the responsibility of family legacy and social impact, and the importance of tolerating disagreement both around our family dinner table and in public life. In West Virginia, I learned that relationships come first, and that progress only happens when we find a way to move forward together. The real challenge now is taking those lessons beyond our own families and communities and applying them to our politics and our country.

Kelsey is earning her master’s in Conflict Resolution, a field that feels more urgent than ever. Through her work with Americans Together , she’s empowering Americans, building collective strength, and helping shape a new center of gravity in U.S. politics.

Thank you to the Department of Government at Georgetown for hosting this important conversation.

As a former Governor of West Virginia, former Chair of the Democratic Governors Association, and former Chair of the National Governors Association, I am urging President Trump to reconsider the decision to exclude Democratic governors from White House meetings held around the upcoming NGA conference in Washington.

The National Governors Association exists for one reason: to bring governors of both parties together as the collective voice of the states and help them solve real problems for the people they serve. That mission has always been bipartisan, and it has always mattered.

Governors — Democrats and Republicans alike — are responsible for the same core challenges: growing the economy, improving education, strengthening infrastructure, protecting public safety, and delivering results. The NGA is one of the few places where those leaders come together to share ideas and find solutions that work across party lines.

Shutting out governors based on party affiliation doesn’t just undermine the NGA, it undermines the citizens those governors were elected to represent. Leadership means bringing people together, especially when it’s hard. This decision should be reconsidered.

White House excluding Dems from its annual governors meeting It’s a break from a decades-long bipartisan tradition.

I’m asking my Republican and Democrat friends in Congress to put politics aside and demand complete, fair, and independent federal investigations into the loss of American lives in the streets of Minnesota as a result of the shootings by federal agents. Everyone — especially the families of those who died and the officers involved in these shootings — deserves accountability for these horrific tragedies.