Arizona Senator Sinema Stands Up for Filibuster

Despite almost unanimous opposition from the rest of her party, Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona maintained her support for the filibuster on Monday, holding the absolutist position that it should even be reinstated for judicial nominees. In a speech at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, Sinema opposed Democratic attempts to eliminate the rule that calls for 60 votes to advance the majority of legislation.

The Washington Examiner reports that during the question and answer portion of her address, Sinema explained, “It’d be bad for us as Americans to think that we should always feed our short-term desires, rather than thinking about the long term. So not only am I committed to the 60-vote threshold, I have an incredibly unpopular view — I actually think we should restore the 60-vote threshold for the areas in which it has been eliminated already.”

She continued, “Not everyone likes that because it would make it harder for us to confirm judges and it would make it harder for us to confirm executive appointments in each administration. But I believe that if we did restore it, we would actually see more of that middle ground in all parts of our governance, which is what I believe our forefathers intended.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell “nuked” the filibuster for Supreme Court judicial candidates when Justice Neil Gorsuch was confirmed in 2017. In 2013, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid abolished the filibuster for all candidates to lower courts.

As moderate Democrats, Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin voted against multiple initiatives related to President Joe Biden’s agenda, including “Build Back Better” last year. Later, the two reached an agreement on the Inflation Reduction Act and other laws, giving Democrats victory in the legislature to celebrate before the midterm elections.

 

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