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Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D- AZ) penned an op-ed in the Washington Post Monday night defending her opposition to killing the filibuster.
The number of Democrats calling for the Senate to nuke the filibuster is growing, as frustration about Republican opposition grows, but both Sinema and Joe Manchin have been very publicly about opposing that.
In her op-ed, Sinema touts the “bipartisan approach” she has taken to get legislation passed, and says, “Lasting results — rather than temporary victories, destined to be reversed, undermining the certainty that America’s families and employers depend on. The best way to achieve durable, lasting results? Bipartisan cooperation.”
She points to Democrats utilizing the filibuster when they were in the minority and argues that she’s being consistent and wants it to stay in place to “protect against attacks on women’s health, clean air and water, or aid to children and families in need” in the future.
It’s no secret that I oppose eliminating the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. I held the same view during
three terms in the U.S. House, and said the same after I was elected to the Senate in 2018. If anyone expected me to reverse my position because my party now controls the Senate, they should know that my approach to legislating in Congress is the same whether in the minority or majority…My support for retaining the 60-vote threshold is not based on the importance of any particular policy. It is based on what is best for our democracy. The filibuster compels moderation and helps protect the country from wild swings between opposing policy poles.
“And to those who fear that Senate rules will change anyway as soon as the Senate majority changes: I will not support an action that damages our democracy because someone else did so previously or might do so in the future,” Sinema adds.
Manchin similarly penned a Washington Post op-ed in April saying he would not vote to kill the filibuster under any circumstance.