Kyrsten Sinema Doubles Down on Protecting the Filibuster

Last week we covered how retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) pointed out the obvious with her quoted repost of coverage from Rep. Pramila Jayapal's (D-WA) comments on the filibuster now that the Democrats will no longer be the ones in charge. On Monday, Sinema was back at it, further reminding what an important institution it is. This time, she had words for Democrats beyond Jayapal, though.

As Sinema posted, it's actually the filibuster that forces the Senate to work in a bipartisan way. This was in reference to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) desperately trying to beg from the Senate floor last week that his Republican colleagues think of acting in a bipartisan manner. In less than two months, Schumer will no longer be in the majority, given that Republicans won control of not only the White House and the House, but the Senate as well.

"Take care not to misread the will of the American people," Schumer had the nerve to lecture his Republican colleagues on. "Do not abandon bipartisanship. It's the best and most effective way to get things done."

What’s the one tool that requires the Senate to work in a bipartisan way?

Oh look, the filibuster. https://t.co/MKWoTkDT3d
— Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) November 18, 2024

As Katie covered, such comments from Schumer are quite rich, as she reminded how partisan he has been. Further, Schumer's even threatened conservative Supreme Court justices from the steps of the courthouse if they did not vote the way he wanted them to on an abortion case in 2020.

Beyond such threatening remarks, Schumer has also hardly engaged in bipartisanship himself, given his efforts to get rid of the filibuster. In January 2022, the Senate failed to pass so-called voting rights legislation President Joe Biden aggressively pushed that would have led to a federal overhaul of our elections. Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) both voted against nuking the filibuster to get in passed. As thanks for sticking up for the integrity of such an institution, Sinema, who along with Manchin was still a Democrat then, was censured as punishment.

When you hear Senate Democrats next Congress talk about bipartisanship, remember that my friends @kyrstensinema and @JoeManchinWV were the only two senators in the Democratic Conference with the courage to stand up to Schumer when he tried to nuke the filibuster. https://t.co/I81yFnnxhO
— Thom Tillis (@ThomTillis) November 18, 2024

Senator Sinema is a friend, a Patriot, and a tough cookie. Grateful that I was able to serve with her in the House and Senate. https://t.co/TOWWeJu5CU
— Cynthia Lummis 🦬 (@CynthiaMLummis) November 19, 2024

Schumer tried once more that year to nuke the filibuster in order to get other legislation passed, this time with the Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA), pro-abortion legislation that wouldn't merely codify Roe v. Wade, as its supporter claimed. Rather, such legislation would actually expand the decision, as it would allow for abortion up until for any reason without legal limit in all 50 states. This move from Schumer was particularly pitiful, given that such legislation didn't receive majority support. Manchin voted against it, as did pro-choice Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Although she voted for the WHPA, Sinema still voted against getting rid of the filibuster so as to more easily pass the legislation.

There's been a battle over the filibuster over the years in the Senate, with both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris coming out in support of getting rid of it in order to get the WHPA passed and signed into law.

Sinema has repeatedly warned of how Republicans could be the ones to get legislation passed that Democrats don't like when they are the ones in power if they get rid of the filibuster, just as she mentioned when responding to Jayapal's remarks, though that wasn't the only time she's done so.

The filibuster is of of course not merely important to do with legislation, though, but also confirming judicial nominees and the president's Cabinet picks.

Back in 2012, then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) raised the idea of nuking the filibuster so that it would be easier to confirm then President Barack Obama's picks, and actually went through with it in 2013, though U.S. Supreme Court nominees still required 60 votes in order to get confirmed. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) warned his Democratic colleagues that they would regret such a move, and sooner than they thought. Sure enough, when Republicans were in control in 2017, they nuked the filibuster to make it easier for then President Donald Trump's nominees to the Supreme Court to get through.

This is how we got Trump's nominees through after all--Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. After Roe v. Wade was overturned as a result of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision in 2022, many pointed out how the decision came down thanks in large part due to Reid's move on the filibuster.

It's worth noting that Sinema's most recent posts to her political X account have been about the filibuster, when it comes to her own support for it, as well as Sen. John Thune (R-SD), who will be the next Senate Majority Leader, and his commitment to protecting the filibuster.

If Republicans didn't manage to take back control of the chamber, we could very well have seen an end to the filibuster, given how Democratic candidates, such as Rep. Colin Allred, who was looking to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas, campaigned on doing so. Allred went on to lose to Cruz by about 8 points. As Matt also covered, it would have been a top priority of Schumer had his party still been in the majority and if the Harris-Walz ticket won.

Kyrsten Sinema Doubles Down on Protecting the Filibuster

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