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Capito, Harvey nominated for U.S. Attorney positions by President Trump

(Capitol Notes - Graphic Illustration/MetroCreative)

CHARLESTON — Former lawmaker Moore Capito, who came in second in the 2024 GOP primary for governor of West Virginia, and Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Harvey have both been nominated for U.S. Attorney districts in the state.

President Donald Trump released a list of nominations and appointments Tuesday. Capito was nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, and Harvey was nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia. Both nominations are subject to the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.

Capito, an attorney for Babst Calland in Charleston, served four two-year terms in the House of Delegates and chaired the powerful House Judiciary Committee until resigning in 2023 to focus on the race for governor in the Republican primary. Capito came in second in a six-person primary, losing to current Gov. Patrick Morrisey, the former state attorney general.

Capito is the son of U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and grandson of the late three-term Republican governor Arch Moore. His cousin is 2nd District Congressman Riley Moore, R-W.Va.

“Very grateful to President Trump…for the honor of being nominated to serve in his historic administration as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia,” Capito said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “President Trump’s commitment to law and order is making our state safer and stronger.”

Harvey is in his third four-year term as Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney, first taking office in 2017. Harvey has prior experience as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Berkeley and Kanawha counties.

He worked as an attorney for the Taylor and Harvey law firm from 2010 to 2016 prior to his election as Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney.

Harvey is also the chairman of the West Virginia First Foundation, the private non-profit organization charged with distributing part of the nearly $1 billion in opioid settlement funds. Representatives of the cities and counties involved in opioid litigation, as well as the Attorney General’s Office, agreed to a memorandum of understanding in 2023 to create the West Virginia First Foundation. The agreement included all 55 counties and more than 220 cities.

“It’s the honor of a lifetime for a prosecutor,” Harvey said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “I wholeheartedly agree with President Trump’s stance on making communities safer by vigorous enforcement of criminal laws and backing our officers. I look forward to leading this office of professionals dedicated to public safety.”

In a statement on social media Tuesday, Capito congratulated her son Capito and Harvey on their appointments.

“Thrilled and extremely proud that (Trump) has chosen two stellar candidates to be West Virginia’s U.S. Attorneys, Matt Harvey in the Northern District and Moore Capito in the Southern District,” Capito said. “I look forward to supporting their quick confirmations so they can get to work on behalf of West Virginia.”

However, the West Virginia Democratic Party accused U.S. Sen. Capito of selling her vote for Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Act, a budget reconciliation package that passed the U.S. Senate Tuesday in a narrow 51-50 vote with a tie broken by Vice President JD Vance. Trump also endorsed Sen. Capito in May for her Republican primary next year when she runs for a third six-year term.

“That’s not public service,” said Del. Mike Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, the chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party. “That’s a blatant quid pro quo.”

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