Twitter Reacts To Senator Shelley Moore Capito’s Support For Obamacare Repeal

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) — who has been one of the most vocal critics of the GOP health care bill — announced Tuesday she would vote "Yes" for the Republican health care reform. Capito was among several moderate Republicans concerned about the Medicaid cuts following the Obamacare repeal.

Last week, Capito said in a statement: "As I have said before, I did not come to Washington to hurt people. For months, I have expressed reservations about the direction of the bill to repeal and replace Obamacare...My position on this issue is driven by its impact on West Virginians. With that in mind, I cannot vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan that addresses my concerns and the needs of West Virginians."

Read: John McCain Returns To Capitol Hill For Health Care Vote

But her about turn Tuesday disappointed many people from her constituency. Several Twitter users expressed anger over Capito's decision to vote for a procedural motion amid Republican push to repeal the signature legislation of former President Barack Obama.

Some social media users tweeted Capito's decision could not be taken as a positive step toward her state amid the growing opioid crisis in West Virginia. The opioid epidemic has hit West Virginia hard, which is one of the nation's poorest states, apart from Ohio. Both the states expanded Medicaid so that poor and lower-income families are covered; however, the GOP health care bill includes deep Medicaid cuts that have become a cause of concern among the people, according to the Hill.

Many users even accused her of being bribed by fellow politicians so she could change her decision.

Only two Republican senators — Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) — who voted against the procedural motion Tuesday. None of the Democrats voted in favor of the motion, reports said. The GOP has 52-48 majority in the Senate.

The Tuesday night vote included a proposal intended to appeal to both the conservatives and moderates in the Republican caucus. The "Consumer Freedom Amendment" proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was included in the latest version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act to allow "insurers to sell stripped-down health plans, without maternity care or other benefits required by the Affordable Care Act," if they also sold plans that included such benefits, the New York Times reported.

Read: Why Has Been Republican Health Care Bill Vote Delayed Again?

Meanwhile, ahead of the health care showdown, scores of protestors in the Senate gallery chanted slogans in the afternoon such as “Kill the bill, don’t kill us!” and “Shame, shame, shame!”

Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), who was diagnosed with cancer last week, also returned to the Capitol Hill for the vote. Although he voted to move ahead, he criticized the secretive process by which Republican senators came up with their bill to repeal and replace the health law, reports said.

“Asking us to swallow our doubts and force it past a unified opposition — I don’t think that’s going to work in the end, and probably shouldn’t,” McCain said. He also said it "seems likely" the current repeal effort would end in failure.