“Department of Labor Names Wayne Palmer Acting Head of Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)”

By: Nicholas W. Scala

While it remains to be seen whether a formal presidential appointee will be tapped to run the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the Trump Administration finally made an influx of leadership decisions for the agency. 

The Department of Labor announced that Wayne Palmer, former Chief of Staff to Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, is now the acting head of MSHA. Palmer’s replacement at the Department of Labor, Nicholas Geale (who is also the Department’s acting Solicitor), stated that Palmer is from Pennsylvania and has “mining in his family’s background.” However, it is not readily apparent if he has any professional experience working with the mining industry. Palmer’s political experience includes working for Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and George Voinovich (R-OH), as well as lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry.

It is still believed the administration will nominate an appointee to serve as permanent Assistant Secretary for MSHA…