Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said she is sticking by the filibuster rule.
The 60-vote threshold is at the center of the standoff between Senate Democrats and Republicans in the ongoing government shutdown, but Capito said the procedural maneuver should remain in place.
Republicans hold the Senate majority but need support from some Democrats to overcome the threshold and pass a continuing resolution that would reopen the government at current spending levels through November.
“I do believe that the filibuster is an instrument that is essential to the inner workings of the Senate,” Capito said Friday.
“It’s good for the country — it provides a voice for the minority [party]; it forces negotiation, particularly in the Senate; and it’s a long-held tradition that I think has worked very, very well,” she said.
Capito spoke with reporters Friday before heading to a fourth vote to attempt to reopen the government.
“I always vote to keep the government open,” she said. “As we see, it’s painful for people who get services; it’s painful for our troops; it’s painful for anybody who’s relying on a government service like getting a passport or a visa or your Head Start program going — it goes on and on.”
The continuing resolution currently on the table contains “no gimmicks” and is “nonpartisan,” Capito said.
“It’s simply the same, almost the exact continuing resolution that Democrats voted for 13 times under President Biden over the last four years,” she said.