Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., questions Education Secretary Linda McMahon during a Senate Appropriations hearing, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said Thursday she shares the frustration of people awaiting a federal disaster declaration for the Father’s Day weekend flooding in Ohio and Marion counties but she expects action to come soon.

“We have been in constant contact with FEMA once all the paperwork, etc., was submitted to FEMA. We call them daily to find out where our emergency declaration is,” Capito, R-W.Va., said during her weekly press briefing. “I would imagine that that declaration will be coming very, very soon.”

Fellow Sen. Jim Justice and freshman Rep. Riley Moore, both R-W.Va., said this week that they too have been in contact with President Donald Trump’s administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in support of the declaration that would unlock additional recovery assistance resources. A spokesman for Justice said much of the timing hinges on state government submitting necessary damage assessment information.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey said this week that he, too, is continuing to press for the declaration.

Heavy rain on June 14 led to flash flooding and nine deaths in the Valley Grove and Triadelphia areas of Ohio County, with Marion County also suffering significant damage.

Capito addressed the disaster declaration during a briefing where she also discussed her support of Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill legislation that was signed into law last week.

“It prevented $1,400 from leaving their (West Virginians’) pocketbook because taxes are not going to go up,” she said of the legislation making permanent tax cuts initiated during Trump’s first term.

It also increased the standard and child deductions, eliminated taxes on tips and overtime and added a $6,000 deduction for older adults earning no more than $75,000 a year.

“These are all good news for West Virginia,” she said.

To help offset a projected $4.5 trillion decrease in tax revenue, the legislation included more than $1 trillion in Medicaid spending reductions over 10 years. Capito acknowledged concerns over those cuts but said the goal is to make sure people who truly need Medicaid receive the assistance they deserve while requiring those who can work to do so.

She said her office has been in contact with the administration about the potential effects on West Virginia and rural hospitals, who some warn could lose significant funding and face closure as a result of the changes. That’s why a $50 billion fund to support rural hospitals was included in the bill, Capito said.

“We certainly need them,” she said, referring to rural hospitals. “We need the availability, the access, the affordability … and the care that they deliver.”

And despite the reductions in Medicaid as a result of the bill, spending will continue to increase, Capito said, just at a reduced rate.

“Medicaid will continue to grow over the next 10 years by $200 billion; it just won’t grow by $1 trillion,” she said.

Capito said she was surprised to learn Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had paused some shipments of weapons to Ukraine but supported Trump’s move to resume their delivery. And she said she believes National Public Radio delivers slanted coverage that constitutes political speech that shouldn’t be supported by taxpayer money. However, she hopes to preserve support for local entities like West Virginia Public Broadcasting in an upcoming rescission package.