Arizona Democratic Party threatens to censure Sen. Kyrsten Sinema
Sep 29, 2021, 11:20 AM | Updated: 11:21 am
In this Sept. 28, 2021 photo, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., a centrist Democratic senator vital to the fate of President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion "Build Back Better" agenda, departs the Senate before meeting with Biden at the White House, at the Capitol in Washington. S (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
PHOENIX – Arizona Democratic Party leaders are putting pressure on U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema to back filibuster reform in order to pass voting rights legislation and support President Joe Biden’s spending plan.
The ADP State Committee approved a resolution Saturday to hold a no confidence vote on Sinema if she fails to fall in line with their demands.
The resolution says the party could potentially censure Sinema and withhold its support when she is up for reelection in 2024.
The state committee is giving Sinema until its January meeting to meet the following conditions:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED – that the Arizona Democratic Party will closely watch Senator Sinema’s votes in the coming weeks and if Senator Sinema, does not vote in favor of Filibuster reform to change the Senate rules in order to allow the passage of The For The People Act – voting rights bill, the John Lewis Voting Rights Bill, or other urgent legislation, for example the PRO ACT, that has already passed by the House or if she votes against the Senate Reconciliation Budget Bill, also referred to as the Human Infrastructure Package or the American Families Plan supported by President Biden and the vast majority of Democrats in both the House and the Senate, or if she continues to delay, disrupt, or votes to gut the Reconciliation Package of its necessary funding, then the Arizona Democratic Party State Committee will go officially on record and will give Senator Sinema a vote of NO CONFIDENCE.
Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia are the only Senate Democrats not supporting Biden’s $3.5 trillion government overhaul.
They have been meeting separately with the president this week to work on reducing the size of the package.
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The stakes are as high as ever as Biden and his party try to accomplish a giant legislative lift, promising a vast rewrite of the nation’s tax priorities and spending goals with a slim majority in Congress.
Biden is under pressure to close the deal with centrist Manchin and Sinema, centrists seen as linchpins for the final package.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
