When newly elected senators are sworn in Jan. 3 at the Capitol, one member won’t be there: Republican Jim Justice says he’ll serve out his term as West Virginia governor and postpone joining the Senate until his gubernatorial successor is inaugurated on Jan. 13.
“I think this is the right decision,’’ Justice said at a news conference Thursday. “I’m going to be your governor until our new governor … is sworn in. … I’ve still got a bunch of things that I hope we’re going to be able to do between now and Jan. 13, and then I’ll go get sworn in as your senator and and we’ll be off and running when President [Donald] Trump hits the ground on Jan. 20.’’
Justice said he wanted to avoid a scenario under which the state would shuffle through four different governors over a 10-day span.
