Shelley Moore Capito

Early life and education

Shelley Wellons Moore Capito was born in Glen Dale, West Virginia, on November 26, 1953. She is the daughter of Shelley (née Riley) and Arch Alfred Moore Jr., who served three terms as the state's governor. A resident of Charleston, Capito was educated at the Holton-Arms School, a private college-preparatory school in Bethesda, Maryland; Duke University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in zoology; and the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development, where she earned her master's degree. She is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and represented West Virginia as the 1972 Cherry Blossom Princess.

Early career

After earning her master's degree, Capito was a career counselor at West Virginia State University and director of the educational information center for the West Virginia Board of Regents.

Capito was elected to Kanawha County's seat in the state House of Delegates in 1996, and served two terms, from 1996 to 2000.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

When Democratic U.S. Representative Bob Wise ran for governor in 2000, Capito ran as a Republican for the open seat in West Virginia's 2nd district. She defeated the Democratic nominee, lawyer Jim Humphreys, by two percentage points in an upset. She was the first Republican to represent West Virginia in Congress since 1983, as well as the first woman elected to Congress from West Virginia who was not the widow of a member of Congress.

Capito was reelected, defeating Humphreys again, 60%–40%.

Capito was reelected to a third term, defeating former newscaster Erik Wells 57%–41%.

Capito was mentioned as a possible challenger to Senator Robert Byrd in 2006, but opted to run for reelection to the House. She was reelected to a fourth term, defeating West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Mike Callaghan, 57%–43%.

Capito was reelected to a fifth term, defeating Anne Barth, a former aide to Byrd, 57%–43%.

Capito was mentioned as a possible challenger to Joe Manchin for the vacated United States Senate seat of the late Robert Byrd. She decided against a Senate bid, and was reelected to a sixth term, defeating Virginia Lynch Graf, 68%–30%.

After redistricting, Capito was challenged in the Republican primary. She defeated Delegate Jonathan Miller and Michael Davis. She was reelected to a seventh term, defeating former gubernatorial aide Howard Swint, 70%–30%.

Committee assignments

Committee on Financial Services

Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit (chair)

Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Subcommittee on Highways and Transit

Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials

Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Caucus memberships

Capito is a former chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues and a member of the Congressional Arts Caucus, Rare Disease Caucus, and Afterschool Caucuses. After the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, Capito founded the Congressional Coal Caucus.

Tenure

Capito served on the House Page Board during the Mark Foley congressional page incident, in which Foley, a Republican representative from Florida, sent sexually explicit messages to teenage boys who had previously served as congressional pages. According to Capito, she wasn't aware of Foley's conduct until informed by the press.

U.S. Senate

Elections

On November 26, 2012, Capito announced her candidacy for the United States Senate in 2014, intending to challenge Democratic incumbent Jay Rockefeller, who subsequently announced his retirement. Despite initial protests from Tea Party groups and anti-establishment conservatives that her House voting record was "too liberal", Capito won 87% of the Republican primary vote, and defeated Democratic Secretary of State Natalie Tennant in the general election, 62% to 34%.

In her 2020 reelection campaign, Capito easily defeated Republican primary challengers Allen Whitt and Larry Butcher, before facing Democratic nominee Paula Jean Swearengin in the general election. Swearengin, a progressive activist whose 2018 U.S. Senate campaign was featured in the Netflix documentary Knock Down the House, defeated state senator Richard Ojeda and former South Charleston mayor Richie Robb in the Democratic primary race.

In the November general election, Capito defeated Swearengin with over 70% of the vote.

On May 13, Capito won the Republican nomination, defeating State Senator Tom Willis with 66.5% of the vote. She faces Democratic nominee Rachel Fetty Anderson in the general election.

Tenure

On January 5, 2016, Mitch McConnell appointed Capito as counsel to the majority leader, along with Rob Portman and Deb Fischer.

Senate Committee assignments

Committee on Appropriations

Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies

Subcommittee on Defense

Subcommittee on Homeland Security

Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Chair)

Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation

Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media

Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy

Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety

Committee on Environment and Public Works (Chair)

As Chair of the full committee, Sen. Moore Capito is entitled to sit as an ex officio member of all subcommittees.

Committee on Rules and Administration

Caucus memberships

Republican Main Street Partnership

Senate Taiwan Caucus

Political positions

Capito has voted with her party 96% of the time. She is considered relatively moderate and has crossed the aisle on some votes. In 2017, The New York Times and The Washington Post reported that Capito was one of the three most moderate Republican senators according to a study by DW-NOMINATE. In 2023, The Lugar Center and McCourt School of Public Policy ranked Capito in the top fifth among senators for bipartisanship. According to FiveThirtyEight, as of January 2023, Capito had voted with President Biden's position about 56% of the time.

Donald Trump's candidacy and presidency

In 2016, Capito raised concerns about Trump's tone and rhetoric during his presidential campaign. After the Access Hollywood tape emerged, Capito said he should "reexamine his candidacy". But she later said she supported Trump for president. In 2020, Capito said she would be "impartial" and "fair" to both sides during Trump's Senate trial after his second impeachment, and voted to acquit him. According to FiveThirtyEight, she had voted with the Trump administration's position 94.9% of the time.

As of November 19, 2020, Capito had not publicly acknowledged that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, though it had been called by all major media and analysts. By November 23, she issued a statement recognizing that Biden would be the next president. By December 5, she was among only 27 congressional Republicans to acknowledge Biden as the winner of the election. Trump subsequently attacked them, calling them RINOs.

On May 28, 2021, Capito voted against creating the January 6 commission. Asked about Trump's future role in the Republican Party, she said she partially blamed him for the "insurrection" and did not think he would be the Republican nominee for president in 2024. Capito eventually endorsed Trump in the 2024 election.

Social policy

Capito is a sponsor of the Gender Advancement in Pay (GAP) Act, saying "it should be common sense that women and men get equal pay for equal work" and expressing concern about sex discrimination against women in the workplace. She is a sponsor of the Rural Access to Hospice Act to improve the quality, access, and retention of hospice facilities in rural parts of the nation. She opposes the Freedom to Vote Act which, among other reforms, would establish Election Day as a public holiday and "ensure states have early voting for federal elections, overhaul how congressional districts are redrawn and impose new disclosures on donations to outside groups active in political campaigns." On social policy, the National Journal gave Capito a score of 54% conservative and 43% liberal.

Capito has a mixed record on LGBT issues. The Human Rights Campaign gave her a score of 30% in the 113th Congress and 64% in the 114th Congress. She received a 0% score in the 115th Congress and a 10% score in the 116th Congress.

In 2004 and 2006, Capito voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment, which intended to ban same-sex marriage in the United States. But in 2015, she said she believed marriage was a state issue. In 2007 Capito voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and against repealing the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy.

In 2009, Capito voted for the 2009–2010 Defense Appropriations bill, which expanded the legal definition of a hate crime to include crimes committed because of someone's gender identity. Also that year, she voted against legislation that defined hate crimes as including those committed because of someone's sexual orientation. In 2013, she voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which includes provisions to assist victims regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and prohibits funding programs that discriminate.

In 2015, Capito voted for an amendment to the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act that provided support and protections for LGBT youth. In 2015, she voted to give same-sex married couples access to Social Security and veterans' benefits. In 2017, Capito disagreed with President Trump's use of Twitter to announce a ban on transgender troops in the military, saying, "we should be thankful for any American who selflessly serves our country to defend our freedoms." In 2021, she released a statement that she opposed the inclusion of trans youth in the sporting programs of their gender identity; in particular, she opposed the inclusion of trans girls in girls' sporting teams and introduced legislation to ban trans girls from participating.

Foreign policy

Capito has sponsored approximately 40 bills about international trade and international finance, the most of any other legislative topic during her career. She criticized the vulnerabilities in national security policy in the wake of the 2015 San Bernardino attack and has sponsored eight bills on the military and national security. Capito was one of 47 Republican senators to sign Senator Tom Cotton's open letter to the Iranian government in 2015. The letter, which sought to dissuade Iran from reaching an agreement with President Barack Obama on nuclear peace, was described by the White House as "undercutting foreign policy".

In April 2017, Capito co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S. 720), which would make it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories if protesting actions by the Israeli government.

On foreign policy, the National Journal gave her a score of 77% conservative and 15% liberal.

In 2005, Capito voted against the Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the major trade agreement negotiated under President George W. Bush. In 2003, 2004, and 2007, she voted to approve free trade agreements with Chile, Singapore, Australia, and Peru. She supports tariffs against countries that manipulate currencies, and she sponsored a bill that would create an import fee on countries with an undervalued currency.

Interior policy

Capito supports the Republican Main Street Partnership's motion to elevate the EPA to be a Cabinet-level department, which would bring more oversight to the entity.

Capito opposes legislation aimed at capping greenhouse gas emissions. In January 2010, she reportedly asked the president if he would reconsider "job-killing" policies like limiting greenhouse gases.

In March 2011, Capito and other members of West Virginia's House delegation co-sponsored a campaign to allow the remains of the last American living veteran of World War I, Frank Buckles, to lie in state at the Capitol rotunda. The move, requested by Buckles's family, had been blocked by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner. Reid and Boehner supported a special ceremony at the Arlington National Cemetery. Capito said, "This is a matter close to the hearts of many West Virginians, but everyone can appreciate the desire to come together one last time to respect and remember America’s last doughboy". The campaign was unsuccessful and Buckles lay in honor at the Arlington National Cemetery.

Capito supported Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. She called the decision "the right decision for the American economy and workers in West Virginia and across the country." She supports regulations implemented by the EPA, based on her bipartisan legislation, to increase clean water standards.

In March 2023, Capito introduced the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023 in support of generation IV reactor technology and nuclear development in general. The ADVANCE Act was incorporated into the Fire Grants and Safety Act and signed into law in July 2024.

Fiscal policy

In 2016, the fiscally conservative PAC the Club for Growth gave her a 50% lifetime rating. In 2011, while in the House, Capito voted for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Constitution. In 2020, she said she opposed cuts to government spending, but also opposed any increases.

In December 2010, Capito voted to extend the tax cuts enacted during the administration of President George W. Bush.

Capito supports a federal prohibition on online poker. In 2006, she cosponsored H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act. She also supported H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. In June 2003, Capito introduced the Family Fairness in Taxing Act of 2003, which would accelerate the increase to the child tax credit, increase the qualification age for children, and revise refundability criteria for the credit.

In 2001, Capito voted in favor of the Bush tax cuts. In 2002, she supported partially privatizing Social Security but opposed complete privatization. In 2006, Capito joined Democrats to vote for an increase of the minimum wage. In 2012, during her campaign for the Senate, the Senate Conservative Fund opposed her nomination because "her spending record in the House is too liberal". In 2013, she voted against cutting funding for food stamps. In 2017, Capito opposed President Trump's proposed budget, saying that it would cut "too close to the bone". In 2017, she said she supported full repeal of the inheritance tax. She also voted in favor of Trump's tax cut bill. In 2019, she came out against budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration. Capito was among a few Republicans, including Joni Ernst of Iowa and Susan Collins of Maine, to express criticism of Trump's nominee to the Federal Reserve, Stephen Moore, because of comments he had made about women; he ultimately withdrew the nomination. In 2019, Capito announced support for paid family leave. In 2020, she opposed budget cuts due to the "spending needs" of states like West Virginia. On September 30, 2021, she was among 15 Senate Republicans to vote with all Democrats and both Independents for a temporary spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. On October 7, 2021, she was one of 11 Republicans voting with all members of the Democratic caucus to end a filibuster on raising the debt ceiling, but voted against the bill to raise the debt ceiling. On August 10, 2021, Capito was one of 19 Senate Republicans to vote with the Democratic caucus in favor of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. On economic issues, the National Journal gave her a rating of 53% conservative and 47% liberal.

Judiciary

Capito opposed having a hearing for President Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, to the Supreme Court due to the nomination's proximity to the 2016 presidential election. In 2017, she voted to confirm President Trump's first Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch. After Trump nominated a second justice, Capito announced her support for the nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, and after he was accused of sexual assault, she continued to support his nomination. But she also said she considered the allegation serious and was among a handful of Republican senators to ask for a vote to be delayed in order to hear from the accuser and from Kavanaugh. Some of her fellow alumnae from the Holton-Arms School personally delivered her a letter signed by more than a thousand alumnae of the school, saying that they believe Kavanaugh's accuser because her allegations are "all too consistent with stories we heard and lived" while attending Holton-Arms.

In March 2019, Capito was one of 12 senators to cosponsor a resolution that would impose a constitutional amendment limiting the Supreme Court to nine justices. The resolution was introduced after multiple Democratic presidential candidates expressed openness to the idea of expanding the seats on the Supreme Court.

In September 2020, less than two months before the next presidential election, Capito supported an immediate vote on Trump's nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death. In March 2016, she took the opposite position when facing Obama's nominee, saying that a justice should not be considered during a presidential election year because "West Virginians and the American people should have the ability to weigh in at the ballot box". As of November 2021, Capito had a mixed voting record on Biden's judicial nominees.

Vice presidential speculation

Capito was considered a possible contender for vice president on the Republican ticket with Donald Trump in 2016, and in May 2016 she was one of several senators to meet with Trump in Washington, D.C. In the end, Trump picked Indiana Governor and former U.S. Representative Mike Pence to join him on the Republican ticket.

Personal life

Capito is married to Charles L. Capito, and they have three children: sons Charles and Moore, and daughter Shelley. Her father served over two years in prison on corruption charges. Her sister, Lucy Moore Durbin, was arrested in 1992 along with her husband for selling cocaine to an undercover officer. Capito and the Moore Capito family are members of First Presbyterian Church in Charleston, West Virginia, a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

In September 2015, Runner's World featured Capito in its "I'm a Runner" vlog, where she states she has been a distance runner for over 30 years.