Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, the first openly bisexual member of Congress, defended her support for the filibuster, which has blocked progressive legislation, in her farewell speech on Dec. 18.
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Sinema, who served in the Arizona House and the U.S. House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate in 2018, was a liberal for much of his career, but became more conservative during his first term in the Senate. She switched her party affiliation from Democratic to Independent in 2022, but continued to caucus with the Democratic Party.
She and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia were the leading Democrats who supported keeping the filibuster in place. The filibuster is a rule that requires 60 senators to vote to end consideration of a bill before voting on the bill itself. A voting rights bill aimed at overriding restrictions adopted by several states failed to pass in 2022 because it fell short of the 60-vote threshold needed to break the filibuster. A similar thing happened with the reproductive rights bill. comprehensive equality law LGBTQ+The bill of rights did not get a vote in the Senate during her term, but if it had, the filibuster would have also gotten in the way.
Neither Sinema nor Manchin ran for re-election this year. Sinema will be replaced by Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, who defeated Republican Kari Lake in November, and Manchin will be replaced by West Virginia Gov. Glenn Elliott, who defeated Democrat Glenn Elliott. Republican Jim Justice will take office.
“When you hold political power and feel the hunger and pressure for immediate partisan victories, it’s easy to see the filibuster as a weapon of obstruction,” Sinema said in his farewell speech. “There is a temptation to prioritize abolishing the filibuster over compromise.”
“While it certainly feels faster, easier, and more satisfying, at least in the short term, there is a danger in choosing short-term wins over the difficult and necessary work of building consensus,” she continued. .
“Succumbing to the temptation of short-term victories means succumbing to the chaos caused by the constant bouncing of legislation, or eliminating the filibuster could preserve political power forever, effectively changing our political system.” It means working under the illusion that the two-party system will end. It’s a misunderstanding, and worse, it’s horrible. One-party dictatorship is not democracy, it is tyranny. It is not the system our ancestors envisioned, and it is not the system our country deserves. ”
However, there is no filibuster rule in the U.S. House of Representatives, which requires only a simple majority to pass legislation.
In his speech, Sinema talked about infrastructure bills, gun safety laws, and the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would enshrine marriage equality into federal law and provide some protection against future negative actions by the Supreme Court. Touted a bipartisan effort.
She also criticized the so-called “nuclear option,” which lowers the threshold for approving federal judicial nominees from 60 votes to 51 votes. The standard was lowered for non-Supreme Court nominees in 2013 and for Supreme Court justices in 2017.
“In 2013, one political party lowered the 60-vote threshold to a simple majority because judicial nominees were not approved fast enough to get a majority,” she said. “Although it is one political party, [Democrats] I started that, the other one is [Republicans] It’s over. And now, all federal judges, including Supreme Court nominees, are confirmed by just 51 votes.
“When the Supreme Court overturned it just nine years later, half the country was shocked and disappointed.” Roe v. Wade.But that wasn’t surprising at all. It was a foreseeable and predictable outcome of eliminating the Senate standard that required broad bipartisan support for judicial nominees. The majority party no longer needs to nominate mainstream judges who have support across the political spectrum. Now it’s just a race to get your guys to the spots while you still have the power. Still, some wonder why public confidence in our country’s judiciary is at an all-time low. ”
He warned that Republicans may try to end the filibuster now. Democrats will have a 53-47 majority when the Senate opens in January, but Democrats have previously held a 51-49 majority, including four independents who caucused with Democrats. was. “As the 119th Congress approaches, Republicans will control the president, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, but sadly their eagerness to subvert these norms and, in fact, use reconciliation as a means to circumvent the filibuster “I’ve already heard rumors of a desire to do so,” she said. “But the end result of that short-sighted action will be the same.
“History has shown us that abusing or eliminating one party’s tools for short-term gain means the other party will do the same when it regains political power. It’s about delegation of authority.
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As she steps down, Cinema faces further criticism over its travel expenses. Washington Citizen Responsibility and Ethics filed a complaint The complaint states that on Dec. 17, the Federal Election Commission asked Sinema and his main campaign committee, Sinema, Arizona, to investigate “clear, direct and material violations of federal election campaign law.” It is written that
“Throughout 2024, in violation of FECA, Sen. Sinema was responsible for financing personal travel, including meals, catering, and lodging related to travel to Arizona, as well as domestic charter flights and international airfare. , appears to have used its main campaign committee, Sinema, Arizona; Europe, Boston, California’s wine country, and several other locations, which appear to have no connection to any campaign or official business.” continues.
Since Cinema announced on March 5 that it would not seek re-election, “Sinema, Arizona has spent more than $100,000 in what appears to be personal travel expenses,” the complaint states. . arizona republic An even higher figure of $200,000 has also been reported. She has previously angered some supporters with lavish travel expenses.
“As a rule of thumb, money spent on a campaign must be spent on the campaign and not solely for personal gain,” CREW President Noah Bookbinder said in a written statement. Ta. Republic. “It is difficult to understand how this expenditure was used to benefit the campaign.”Although expenditures from the election commission are legal for official business, Mr. Bookbinder said his organization It said it had determined that it was not related to a public purpose.
“The law applies to you whether it’s your first week in office or your last week,” Bookbinder added. “Spending thousands of campaign dollars on yourself is even more troubling after you announce that you are no longer a candidate.”
of republic Cinema Inc. did not respond to a request for comment.
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