Following a failed vote to reopen the federal government Wednesday, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., spoke directly to the state’s federal employees.
West Virginia has 17,301 federal civilian employees, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
“All of those public servants, who are bearing the brunt of this nonsense, please know how much I value your contribution every day,” Capito said. “I'll work tirelessly to get you back to work, to get you back to that certainty that you need.”
Capito said Senate Republicans plan to continue voting on measures to reopen the government.
“We will continue bringing forward opportunities for the Democrats to join us in reopening the government,” she said. “We'll keep voting to do the right thing, and give them the chance to do the same. The American people expect Congress to be responsible stewards of their tax dollars — I know that's what my constituents in my home state of West Virginia want me to do.”
Capito and Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., voted in favor of a short-term funding measure Tuesday evening that would have kept the government running at its current spending levels through November. Both have blamed Democrats for the resolution’s failure.