Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s radical agenda to transform America has hit a major roadblock thanks to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
The freshman Democrat from Arizona just told Politico, “They will not get my vote on [nuking the filibuster] … In fact, whether I’m in the majority or the minority I would always vote to reinstate the protections for the minority … It is the right thing for the country.”
This is extremely significant.
Warren’s sweeping proposals include tens of trillions of dollars in new spending to provide free healthcare, universal child care, universal pre-K, free college, and to cancel student loan debt. “I don’t understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running to the president of the United States to talk about what we really can’t do and shouldn’t fight for,” she once declared during a Democratic presidential debate.
But the reality is that most of Warren’s plans would require the approval of Congress. Right now, under the best-case scenario for Democrats, they would take over the White House next year and gain a narrow Senate majority. Any realistic scenario for 2020 would put them far short of the 60 votes needed to pass major legislation given filibuster rules.
Though Warren has proposed eliminating the legislative filibuster, changing Senate rules would require majority support. And now Sinema is sending a strong signal that she is not on board with taking such a drastic step. And she is not alone among Democrats.
Sen. Joe Manchin, for instance, has also consistently voted against weakening the filibuster.
This reinforces my case that we all should be paying more attention to the executive actions that presidential candidates are pledging to take once their legislative plans inevitably hit a roadblock.
