As the federal government shutdown entered its 37th day, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., expressed frustration over the ongoing stalemate and the growing impact on West Virginians, particularly those relying on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“Our food banks are extremely busy filling a gap that should never have existed, and that is the lack of SNAP funding for our families,” Capito said during a Thursday press call. “Eighteen percent of West Virginians — about 250,000 people — rely on this.”
Capito said she has voted multiple times to reopen the government and emphasized that she does not support shutdowns under any presidential administration.
“I am not going to vote to ever shut down the government,” she said. “This is very painful.”
Capito addressed President Donald Trump’s recent comment suggesting SNAP benefits be withheld until the shutdown ends, saying Trump has since reversed his stance.
“I think he has reversed himself from that initial statement,” Capito said. “He heard from me and others that ‘we need your help here, Mr. President. The governors are stepping up, but you need to dip into your emergency funding,’ which he’s going to do and has done.”
According to Capito, the administration is preparing to disburse partial SNAP benefits for November in accordance with a federal judge’s recent ruling.
“I don’t think the money’s there yet to pay those November SNAP benefits, at least for the first 15 or 20 days of the month,” she said.
Capito also discussed the broader effects of the shutdown, including disruptions to air traffic control and air transportation, and noted that West Virginians are feeling the strain.
“We could have been negotiating on other issues, such as health care, but honestly, the refusal, the obstruction and the hijacking of the American people has got to come to an end,” she said. “There’s some blue sky that maybe it will, but there are no promises. We’ll know more as the days unfold, but it’s really, I think, very wearing on the American public — and West Virginians in particular.”
Capito said the main obstacle remains reopening the government before broader talks can proceed.
“We can’t get the Democrats to open the government before we begin negotiating,” she said. “There are at least 10 Democrats that are tired of this, realizing the pain that they’ve inflicted, and they want to get out.”
Capito said she remains hopeful a deal might come soon, though “it should have been yesterday — it should have been October 1.”
During the call, Capito reaffirmed her opposition to eliminating the Senate filibuster, calling it an “important tool for the minority.”
The senator concluded by noting that while the shutdown continues, the Senate has still been able to confirm several federal judges and a State Department nominee, since the Senate alone has the authority to do so.
“We are the advice and consent body here on the Executive Branch,” Capito said, “so we can move forward with that without having the House here.”
The shutdown has left hundreds of thousands of federal employees without pay and disrupted key federal programs, with West Virginia’s food banks and non-profits continuing to shoulder the burden for struggling families.