Capito Says She Doesn’t Know New House Speaker, But Glad There Is One

Business had come to a halt in Congress, with funding for Ukraine and Israel on hold, as well as longer-term legislation to keep the government open past Nov. 17.

A woman with blonde hair and wearing a red jacket gestures to an audience inside a white tent while holding her glasses.

One of West Virginia’s U.S. senators expressed relief that the House of Representatives has a new leader.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., welcomed the news that House Republicans, after four attempts in three weeks, elected a speaker this week, Mike Johnson of Louisiana.

Business had come to a halt in Congress, with funding for Ukraine and Israel on hold, as well as longer-term legislation to keep the government open past Nov. 17.

Capito, who served several terms in the House before she was elected to the Senate, said she looked forward to working with Johnson.

“I personally do not know Speaker Johnson, but I will be getting to know him, I’m sure, in the future,” she said.

Johnson succeeds Kevin McCarthy of California, who was ousted from the position earlier this month.

Author: Curtis Tate

Curtis is our Energy & Environment Reporter, based in Charleston. He has spent more than 17 years as a reporter and copy editor for Gannett, Dow Jones and McClatchy. He has written extensively about travel, transportation and Congress for USA TODAY, The Bergen Record, The Lexington Herald-Leader, The Wichita Eagle, The Belleville News-Democrat and The Sacramento Bee. You can reach him at ctate@wvpublic.org.

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