Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey gives Sen. Kyrsten Sinema credit for filibuster stance

PHOENIX — Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said he was glad Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema voted against changing the Senate filibuster rule this week, a move that helped sink her party’s efforts to pass voting rights legislation.

“I want to give Sen. Sinema credit for standing up and protecting a Senate rule that she believes in,” Ducey told reporters Thursday after taking part in a groundbreaking ceremony in Phoenix for Sunlit Chemical, which supplies products used in the semiconductor industry.

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

Both would have had to agree to the rule change for Democrats to pass their voting rights bill without any GOP votes. But with the 60-vote threshold of the filibuster still in effect, the Senate failed to send the legislation to President Joe Biden’s desk after the House passed it.

The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act would make Election Day a national holiday, ensure access to early voting and mail-in ballots, and enable the Justice Department to intervene in states with a history of voter interference, among other changes.

Sinema and Manchin both voted yes on the bill before voting against changing the filibuster rule.

“Tonight, I voted again to support legislation safeguarding and expanding Americans’ access to the ballot box and strengthening faith in our elections,” Sinema said in a statement afterward.

“I also maintained my longstanding opposition to separate actions that would deepen our divisions and risk repeated radical reversals in federal policy, cementing uncertainty and further eroding confidence in our government.”

As she’s done many times before, she said he remains committed to a bipartisan approach to lawmaking.

“I’m glad that she’s trying to bring people together,” Ducey said.

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