Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., was sworn in to office Tuesday by Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, at the U.S. Capitol.
“I want to humbly thank the people of the 2nd Congressional District of West Virginia for entrusting me with the honor of representing them in the Congress of the United States,” Mooney said in a news release. “Our nation and the state of West Virginia face many important hurdles. I look forward to bringing West Virginian values to the national conversation on these issues.”
Mooney defeated Democrat Nick Casey in November to win election to the House from West Virginia’s Second District. He replaces Shelley Moore Capito, who vacated the seat to run for the Senate seat being vacated after the retirement of Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.
Capito also won her election and was ceremonially sworn in Tuesday.
In one of Mooney’s first acts in office Tuesday, he voted to re-elect Boehner as Speaker of the House.
In his statement, Mooney said that he intends to spend much of his time in office at home in Jefferson County, “close to the needs of the citizens (he has) been elected to serve.”
“West Virginia is blessed to be abundant in natural resources and patriotic citizens,” Mooney said in the statement. “I will work hard every day for West Virginian priorities and to bring jobs back to our state.”
Mooney has been appointed to serve on two important and influential committees in the 114th Congress: the House Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on the Budget. In a December interview with The Journal, Mooney said he requested to be part of the Committee on Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over energy production, mineral lands and mining.
“It’s important to West Virginia to have someone on the Natural Resources Committee,” Mooney said in the interview.
