Senate Republicans narrowly approved President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” today, with West Virginia senators Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice voting yes.
The vote was 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. All Democrats voted against the bill, as did Republicans Rand Paul, Thom Tillis and Susan Collins.
Capito and Justice, both Republicans, each released statements explaining their votes and praising aspects of the giant bill, which is the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda.
West Virginia community groups who had expressed concerns about the bill released statements critical of Justice and Capito.
The bill now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives to consider changes that were made by the Senate. The Trump administration has set a goal of final passage by the Fourth of July, which is Friday.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill” advances many of President Trump’s top priorities, including extending the 2017 tax cuts enacted in his first term and expanding border enforcement while going ahead with deep spending cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and other federal programs.
“The Republican Reconciliation bill is a clear reflection of our priorities: securing our borders, rebuilding our military, preventing the largest tax increase in U.S. history, and unleashing American energy,” Capito said in the statement distributed by her office.
“I was proud to vote in favor of this commonsense legislation that not only delivers on the promises we’ve made to the American people, but will put West Virginia and our entire nation on a path to greater economic growth, national security, energy independence, and opportunity.”
Justice, her colleague, also praised the legislations’ passage.
“Passing President Trump’s agenda out of the Senate provides lasting tax relief, establishes common-sense reform to our social programs while protecting those who are most vulnerable, and represents a refocus on placing the American dream back in reach for all Americans,” he said.
“Throughout this process, I worked closely with both President Trump and my Senate colleagues to not only safeguard West Virginia’s interests, but bring prosperity to the state and provide opportunity to the working men and women of this country.”
Justice, a former governor who is in his first year as a senator, continued, “West Virginia elected me to be their voice in Washington and deliver lasting positive results just as I did while Governor – I am confident this bill is a strong step in the right direction and I will continue my work with President Trump to make life better for West Virginians.”
The Senate reconciliation package being debated this weekend would add nearly $3.3 trillion in budget deficits over the next 10 years, according to a new estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Yet spending cuts to social safety net programs also have driven public debate.
The Congressional Budget Office’s latest cost estimate concludes that the bill would reduce federal Medicaid spending by $793 billion and increase the number of people without health insurance by 10.9 million, because of changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
The proposals institute more rigorous requirements for Medicaid that are anticipated to cause millions of people to drop their Medicaid coverage.
One of the new provisions is “community engagement requirements” of at least 80 hours per month of work, education or service for able-bodied adults without dependents.
Critics have said the work requirement actually represents greater red tape for recipients who could forget to maintain their coverage, misunderstand steps or miss a key update.
“Both Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice said they went to Congress to help West Virginians; however, they both voted Monday on a bill that will make life more expensive, unmanageable, and vulnerable for all but the wealthiest of us,” said Ellen Allen, executive director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care.
“They lied when they said anyone who deserves to be on Medicaid will not be denied: they were only going after waste, fraud and abuse. NOT TRUE. And West Virginians will feel the pain when these massive cuts go into effect.”
The bill would reduce federal spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, by roughly $286 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office analysis
A major aspect would expand the age range for work requirements.The work requirements would mean 3.2 million people would lose food stamp benefits in an average month over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office estimates.
Furthermore, the bill would require states to take on more of the costs of administering SNAP and limit future administrations’ ability to raise benefit amounts.
“Senators Capito and Justice once again failed to stand up for West Virginia, caving and passing Donald Trump’s disastrous billionaire-first budget,” said Mike Pushkin, chairman of the state Democratic Party.
“This budget won’t make life better for West Virginians, it will rob them of their health insurance, take food off the table, and kill good-paying jobs — all to line the pockets of the GOP’s billionaire donors. This budget is nothing short of an attack on working families across West Virginia.”