The Trump administration has decided against closing 34 offices of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, an agency dedicated to enforcing mining safety laws, the Department of Labor announced on Thursday.
Earlier this year, the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative of President Donald Trump and managed by Elon Musk, proposed terminating leases for several federal agencies, including three dozen offices of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Seven of these offices are situated in Kentucky alone. This move was projected to save the federal government $18 million.
According to reliable sources, Elon Musk announced his resignation as a senior adviser earlier this week. A statement from a spokesperson for the Labor Department indicated their close collaboration with the General Services Administration to secure necessary resources for MSHA inspectors, whose primary mission is to prevent death, illness, and injury from mining activities while promoting secure and healthy work environments for American miners.
Reports from the Department of Government Efficiency’s website still list some MSHA offices as potential closures. Still, no further details were provided in the statement about whether these closures will proceed.
Congress established MSHA within the Labor Department in 1978. This was partly due to concerns that state inspectors were overly lenient with the industry, leading to inadequate implementation of often costly but necessary measures to ensure miners’ safety. MSHA is mandated to inspect each underground mine quarterly and each surface mine biannually.
The significance becomes clear when we consider comments from Jack Spadaro, a veteran mine safety investigator and environmental expert. He welcomed the decision, calling it “a relief and good news for miners and the inspectors at MSHA.” He expressed concerns over the initial plans, questioning the understanding of the nature, frequency, and depth of inspections required in mine operations.
Data review in March by the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center indicates nearly 17,000 health and safety inspections were conducted from the start of 2024 through February 2025 by the MSHA offices in the facilities facing closure. The center also noted that MSHA, which also oversees metal and nonmetal mines, was already understaffed, with a 27% reduction in total staff in the past decade, including 30% of enforcement staff in general and 50% of enforcement staff for coal mines.
This development follows earlier reports that coal industry advocates are also attempting to save hundreds of jobs within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Some estimates suggested about 850 of the agency’s approximately 1,000 employees were at risk of being cut by the Trump administration.
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. This division is responsible for screening and reviewing medical exams to determine whether there is evidence that coal miners have developed a respiratory ailment commonly known as black lung disease.
In conclusion, the planned closures of several mine safety offices have been reversed. However, questions remain unanswered about the fate of other offices still listed for closure.
