Will she fold again on supporting health care for West Virginians?
Senator Capito gets another chance to support the citizens of her state
If you’ve been following the news, you know that the Republicans may soon try to replace Obamacare with yet another plan. West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito, who voted for the last replacement attempt, once again may be a critical vote. For Capito, this one should be no-brainer for an obvious reason: money for opioid treatment. Capito sold out last time on “skinny health care” because the bill included additional money for opioid treatment. This one doesn’t have those billions for treatment and yet Capito hasn’t committed one way or the other. As the Daily Beast just reported:
the Senate is preparing to consider an entirely different Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill, one authored primarily by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA). And though that measure does not contain additional funding to combat the opioid epidemic—despite cutting Medicaid spending—neither Portman nor Capito have indicated that they will oppose it.
Capito has been quiet about how she will vote on the bill, having met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to discuss it on Monday. Her office did not return a request for comment.
CNN reported a similar response:
And when West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito was asked about her thoughts, she only pursed her lips and would not answer.
"I'm late," Capito said as she walked into the evening's leadership meeting.
I think Capito hopes this will all go away; that a few braver-than-herself Republicans will say “no” early enough that the vote will not be taken and she won’t have to commit until after the bill is lost as she did with the first Senate vote on Trumpcare. (See “A profile in courage.")