Book to detail rifts between Sen. Sinema of Arizona and President Biden

PHOENIX — A book about the 2020 election and President Joe Biden’s first year in office will detail rifts between him and U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, according to Axios.

“This Will Not Pass,” written by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns of The New York Times and set to be released May 3, dives into a number of Biden-Sinema issues, including the Democratic president’s inability to understand Sinema’s filibuster stance that sunk her party’s efforts to pass voting rights legislation.

Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia were the only two Democrats to vote against changing Senate rules to overcome a Republican filibuster.

“One person close to the president likened Biden’s perplexity at Sinema to his difficulty grasping his grandchildren’s use of … TikTok,” the authors wrote.

“He wanted to relate, but he just didn’t quite get it.”

The book also details a pattern of Republican-like behavior from Arizona’s senior senator.

Sinema mocked Biden and spoke well of House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, a Republican who has denied the results of the 2020 election and has pushed conspiracy theories related to the COVID-19 vaccines and the Jan. 6 attacks.

Biden aides also complained Sinema spoke more like Republican U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah than a Democrat.

She even offered herself as anti-tax and anti-government during a private fundraiser with a Republican-heavy group of lobbyist, according to the book.

Sinema also reportedly refused to wear a mask in Biden’s presence last spring, arguing it wasn’t necessary because she was vaccinated.

“She became the first-ever lawmaker to argue with White House aides when they asked her to wear a face mask in the company of the president,” the book said.

A spokesman for Sinema said in an email to KTAR News 92.3 FM on Thursday that all the sources for the book were anonymous.

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