CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Five-term West Virginia congressman Alex Mooney leaves office when the new Congress is sworn-in Friday morning.
Rep. Mooney decided to run for U.S. Senate last year. He was defeated in the May Primary Election by U.S. Senator-elect, Gov. Jim Justice.
Mooney said the one thing that has stuck out to him from the beginning of his tenure to now is the amount of constituent cases he has helped solve.
“I’ve completed over 5,000 constituent cases, I think we have to remind ourselves how important that is, knowing that constituents can call you,” Mooney said during a recent appearance on MetroNews “Talkline.” “You can help with a benefit they’re not getting, a lost passport, even a tour of the capital, veteran’s benefits. There’s been a lot of successful constituent work, and I take pride in that.”
Mooney said he’s also proud that he was able to co-sponsor six different veteran-related bills.
Mooney said he’s biggest regret is being unable to convince more of his colleagues to return to the regular process of approving spending bills instead of waiting for continuing resolutions to keep the government open. Mooney said that’s his message for the incoming Congress.
“My message is simply, don’t keep just giving big spending bills with no restrictions,” he said.
Despite not winning in the primary, Mooney said that he doesn’t know what the future holds but he does know that his family will stay in West Virginia.
“I don’t know what the future holds, I’m open to whatever I can do to serve West Virginia,” he said. “Of course, we’re staying here, we still have a 10-year-old at home, and we love living here, we’re certainly not leaving or going anywhere.”
Mooney was cleared of any wrongdoing in connection with the spending of campaign finance funds earlier this week by the House Ethics Committee. The investigation has been taking place more than three years.
“I am grateful to announce that the long standing bipartisan U.S. House Committee on Ethics has fully dismissed all allegations raised against me following their inquiry in which I fully cooperated and answered all their questions,” Mooney said in a Monday news release. “It has been clear all along this was a politically motivated move from the separate Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), which was created by then Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2019. After facing these baseless accusations—driven by politically motivated actors on the extreme left—since 2021, I am pleased that my good name has been fully cleared.”
Mooney said during his recent appearance on “Talkline” that he has no regrets about his time in Congress.
“I can say it’s been a greatest privilege of my life and I thank you very much for the opportunity to serve,” he said.
Riley Moore, the current state Treasurer, will take the oath of office Friday to become the state’s representative in the state’s second congressional district.