--- title: Shelley Moore Capito: I Didn't Come to D.C. to Hurt People description: Shelley Moore Capito condemned repealing Obamacare without a replacement, announcing she could not support the former without the latter canonical: https://time.com/4863692/shelley-moore-capito-obamacare-repeal-opposition-health-care/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-18T22:04:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:36:41.214Z article:section: Politics og:title: GOP Senator on Obamacare Repeal: 'I Did Not Come to Washington to Hurt People' og:description: She said she could not support a repeal bill without a replacement og:url: https://time.com/4863692/shelley-moore-capito-obamacare-repeal-opposition-health-care/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdee09e4d84afdb15/69889ca3cf40a81eadc440f5/53bee3e30639449aa8de6e711af12540-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4145 og:image:height: 2332 og:image:alt: Shelley Moore Capito og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: GOP Senator on Obamacare Repeal: 'I Did Not Come to Washington to Hurt People' twitter:description: She said she could not support a repeal bill without a replacement twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdee09e4d84afdb15/69889ca3cf40a81eadc440f5/53bee3e30639449aa8de6e711af12540-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # GOP Senator Slams Obamacare Repeal Bill: 'I Did Not Come to Washington to Hurt People' > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jul 18, 2017 10:04 PM UTC  Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, checks out the stage before the opening session of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland,July 18, 2016. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, checks out the stage before the opening session of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland,July 18, 2016.Carolyn Kaster—AP  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jul 18, 2017 10:04 PM UTC [West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito](http://time.com/4857372/gop-health-care-plan/) strongly condemned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s plan to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan, announcing she could not support the former without the latter. “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,” Capito said in a statement Tuesday. “My position on this issue is driven by its impact on West Virginians,” she continued. “With that in mind, I cannot vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan that addresses my concerns and the needs of West Virginians.” McConnell said in a statement Monday night that since the Obamacare repeal bill did not have the necessary votes, the Senate would instead take up the debate and vote to repeal Obamacare. Capito said in a tweet she couldn’t do that unless replacement legislation was proposed. > [](https://twitter.com/SenCapito/status/887329090147147776) Capito was not one of the three Senators who refused to support the Senate’s revised version of the House health care overhaul bill, leading McConnell to conclude he did not have the votes on a motion to proceed. Capito, however, never announced she would support the bill and [came out against the original version,](http://time.com/4862315/health-care-bill-collapse-crossroads/) expressing reservations about the lack of funding for substance abuse recovery programs and the reduction in Medicaid spending. “I have serious concerns about how we continue to provide affordable care to those who have benefited from West Virginia’s decision to expand Medicaid, especially in light of the growing [opioid crisis,](http://time.com/4720116/john-kasich-ohio-opioid-crisis-marijuana/)” Capito said in her statement Tuesday. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4863692/shelley-moore-capito-obamacare-repeal-opposition-health-care/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4863692/shelley-moore-capito-obamacare-repeal-opposition-health-care/"},"headline":"GOP Senator Slams Obamacare Repeal Bill: 'I Did Not Come to Washington to Hurt People'","datePublished":"2017-07-18T22:04:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:36:41.214Z","description":"\"I will only vote to proceed to repeal legislation if I am confident there is a replacement plan\"","url":"https://time.com/4863692/shelley-moore-capito-obamacare-repeal-opposition-health-care/","keywords":["Health Care","Congress","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdee09e4d84afdb15/69889ca3cf40a81eadc440f5/53bee3e30639449aa8de6e711af12540-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdee09e4d84afdb15/69889ca3cf40a81eadc440f5/53bee3e30639449aa8de6e711af12540-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Shelley Moore Capito","caption":"Sen. 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