200+ SWVA Jobs on Hold Due to Policies Supported by Morgan Griffith

In the latest blow to Southwest Virginia caused by Morgan Griffith’s subservient support of Donald Trump’s disastrous economic policies, a fish farm project promising to create more than 200 high-paying jobs in Russell and Tazewell counties has been put on hold indefinitely. According to Cardinal News, Trump’s tariffs and high fuel prices caused by the Iran war, both policies supported by Griffith, are the reason for the latest delay to the project.

“The company was ready to resume construction a few months ago, but due to the instability of the tariffs, it makes planning extremely challenging and costly,” said Republican Delegate Will Morefield of Tazewell County. The company said it has already invested $80 million on the project, but tariffs on Chinese goods would add tens of millions to necessary infrastructure upgrades to support the facility.

The project is slated to create more than 200 permanent jobs with an average wage of $59,500 per year, more than double the area’s median household income. It’s also expected to create at least 400 temporary jobs during the facility’s construction. That is, if the latest completely preventable blow to the project doesn’t end up killing it.

When it comes to Trump’s tariffs, Morgan Griffith has been a supporter, and even blocked efforts by others in Congress to undo the damage they’ve caused. “Trade actions are necessary to discourage China from continuing nefarious trade practices that hurt American workers and goods,” Griffith told WSET News back in 2025, of the actions that are currently hurting American workers and goods. And despite the fact that Griffith has said tariffs should be controlled by Congress, he used his powerful position on the House Rules Committee to stop three separate attempts to bring tariffs back under Congressional control in an apparent effort to appease the White House.

Morefield also cited the high and unstable fuel prices caused by the Iran war as another contributing factor to the delay. Morgan Griffith has voted six times against war powers resolutions that would have forced the administration to either get congressional support or withdrawal from the conflict. Again, Griffith has shown he is constantly willing to cede his power to President Trump, even when it goes against his stated values and against the interests of the constituents in the 9th District he is supposed to represent.

Morgan Griffith continues to show he places his own interests above those of Southwest Virginia. 9th District voters have until November 2nd to cast their ballot and let him know it's time to move on.