Sen. Kyrsten Sinema shot down speculation she would switch parties, arguing that both Democrats and Republicans should make more room for internal disagreements.
Sinema, who has faced a growing pressure campaign from fellow Democrats and progressive activists over her objections to the size and scope of President Joe Biden’s sweeping social spending legislation and her support for the filibuster, told Politico she won’t become a Republican.
“No. Why would I do that?” Sinema said, in a deadpan manner.
With the Senate divided 50-50 and Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote giving Democrats the majority, Sinema is a linchpin in virtually any effort to enact President Joe Biden’s agenda. Sinema and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia have put the breaks on huge spending ambitions by their party’s more liberal members, shaving trillions off of the president’s Build Back Better proposal.
Sinema is often seen on the Senate floor in discussion with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and GOP Whip John Thune, the latter of whom has confirmed he has tried to get Sinema to join his conference.
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Instead, Sinema said, both Republicans and Democrats should embrace diversity of opinion among their members.
“I’ve been concerned at the push that happens in both parties, this push to have no disagreements. To only have unity or to only speak with one voice. And some will say, ‘Oh, that is our strength,’” Sinema said. “Having some disagreement is normal. It is real, it is human. And it’s an opportunity for us as mature beings to work through it.”
Sinema said she enjoys her discussions with McConnell because he “has a dry sense of humor. It’s underrated.”
Sinema also addressed the pressure campaign, saying her critics have the right to protest her decision-making, but some have crossed a line, such as those who followed her into a bathroom at Arizona State University, where she is a lecturer, and filmed her and her students.
The freshman Arizona senator has recently signaled she is open to the spending bill pending final negotiations but also said Democratic leadership set expectations too high for the bill with progressives.
“You’re either honest or you’re not honest. So just tell the truth and be honest and deliver that which you can deliver,” Sinema said. “There’s this growing trend of people in both political parties who promise things that cannot be delivered in order to get the short-term political gain. And I believe that it damages the long-term health of our democracy.”
Despite having a number of friends in the House Progressive Caucus, Sinema, who was a proponent of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, said Biden was only able to sign it thanks to 13 Republicans and the Congressional Black Caucus.
The CBC, Sinema said, “did a lot of heavy lifting to get that bill across the finish line in the House,” but she added that the Republicans “who voted yes on that bill in the House, and many of whom are now receiving death threats, they deserve a much greater share of thanks than they received … Speaker Pelosi did not have the Democratic votes to pass that bill on a one-party vote.”
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Sinema, who is known for wearing distinctive clothing, also took aim at media coverage and commentary on what she chooses to wear.
“It’s very inappropriate. I wear what I want because I like it. It’s not a news story, and it’s no one’s business,” Sinema said. “It’s not helpful to have [coverage] be positive or negative. It also implies that somehow women are dressing for someone else.”
