Maria Young Published

W.Va. Senators Vote For ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

A woman in a purple suit with necklace and a man in navy suit with pale yellow tie smile at the camera.
West Virginia's senior U.S. senator, Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., welcomes the state's former governor, Jim Justice, to the United States Senate.
Courtesy: Office of Shelley Moore Capito

With help from West Virginia’s two U.S. senators, Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill passed President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” by the narrowest of margins Tuesday.

Both Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Jim Justice, R-W.Va., voted in favor of the bill which extends tax cuts but also cuts Medicaid and SNAP benefits. 

In a statement, Justice said the bill “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.”

In a statement before the vote, Capito said the bill will lower energy costs for American families, though renewable energy companies and some Republicans said it would make clean power more costly to build.

With three Republicans opposing the bill, Vice President J.D. Vance broke a 50-50 tie to secure passage of the bill. 

It now goes back to the House of Representatives for a vote on changes senators made before it can head to the president’s desk.