West Virginia Senator Ryan Weld to be named Senate Majority Whip

Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, is expected to announce the appointment officially today. The No. 2 position in the Senate belongs to Majority Leader Ryan Ferns, R-Ohio, and in his new position Weld, R-Brooke, will be the third-ranking member in the chamber.

Weld, 37, represents the 1st Senate District, and he also serves as assistant prosecutor in Brooke County.

He was elected to his first term in the Senate last year, and has only been in office since January.

Weld previously served one term in the House of Delegates, beginning in 2015.

“We do our best, and work extremely hard in Charleston. Being selected (as leaders) might be recognition for this,” Weld said of himself and Ferns.

“We’re extremely focused on our positions, and not just in Charleston but at home. We have to have knowledge on a wide range of issues, and we do our homework. That’s something (Ferns) and I have done quite well, and we’re not afraid of the work.”

Weld said he’s grateful to receive such an opportunity during his first year in the Senate.

“I look forward to playing a bigger role in not just what happens in the district, but in the state at large,” he said.

The majority whip’s role is to ensure every piece of legislation has enough support to be passed before it gets to the floor, according to Weld.

“We have a limited 60-day session,” he said.

“We don’t want to waste time on things that won’t be passed. It’s the whip’s role to make sure there is consensus on legislation.”

The majority whip is also at the table for leadership discussions.

“And anytime an area has the No. 2 and No. 3 positions in the Senate, the area has the opportunity to weigh in on the agenda and which issues they want to tackle,” Weld said.

The Senate president has the final say in which pieces of legislation will run based on the information provided him by the whip, according to Weld. A captain in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, Weld presently chairs the Senate Military Committee and is vice-chairman of the Workforce Committee.

But it was Weld’s efforts as vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee that led to his selection as majority whip, according to Ferns, who also praised Weld’s work ethic and his willingness “to stand up for what he believes in.”

“President Carmichael and I discussed a number of candidates, and we decided (Weld) was the best for the job,” Ferns said. “He has only served for a short amount of time, but in a critical role as vice chair of the Judiciary (Committee). That is where most debate occurs, and the vice chair is the most involved in the debate.”

Ferns added Weld’s selection “is a phenomenal thing for the Northern Panhandle.”

“It’s probably never happened before where we have two members from the same district in high positions in the Senate — the No. 2 and No. 3 spots,” he said. “It’s pretty remarkable, and it should bode well for the Northern Panhandle having both of us here. (Weld) will now be in the highest level of decision making. Anytime there is a leadership meeting, there will be another voice at the table from the Northern Panhandle.”

Ferns said the issues discussed by leadership aren’t likely to change, as the Senate will remained focus on creating policy that allows for job creation in West Virginia.

“That is what we feel is most critical for the people of the state,” he said.

Weld will succeed Sen. Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, as majority whip. Blair has moved on to become chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, taking over for former Sen. Mike Hall, R-Putnam, who resigned to take the job as Gov. Jim Justice’s chief of staff.