Independent Senator Krysten Sinema of Arizona criticized Vice President Kamala Harris after she said she supported abolishing the Senate filibuster to pass legislation that would restore abortion protections nationwide.
“To be very clear, eliminating the filibuster to codify Roe v. Wade would also allow a future Congress to ban all abortions nationwide,” said Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in 2022. I wrote to X.
“It's a really terrible, short-sighted idea,” she added.
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US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a Labor Day event at Northwestern High School in Detroit, Michigan, September 2, 2024. (Jeff Kowalski/AFP via Getty Images)
Sen. Joe Manchin of Indiana, a strong supporter of the filibuster, echoed Sinema's comments, calling the filibuster “the holy grail of democracy.”
“Shame on you,” Manchin said on Capitol Hill, according to CNN. “She knows that the filibuster is the Holy Grail of democracy. It's the only thing that keeps us talking and working together. If she abolishes it, the House will be like it's on steroids.”
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Independent, R-Arizona) spoke to reporters alongside Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Dec. 20, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Sinema's harsh criticism came after Harris aired her thoughts on abolishing the filibuster on Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR).
Eliminating the filibuster, a Senate rule that allows the minority to block legislation while awaiting a supermajority vote, would make it easier to pass abortion rights legislation.
“I think we should get rid of the Roe filibuster,” Harris told WPR in an interview on Tuesday, “and get to the point where we have 51 votes to actually restore in law reproductive freedom and the right of every individual and every woman to make their own decisions about their own bodies and not have the government dictate to them.”
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In the interview, Harris also said it was “quite possible” for Democrats to maintain their majority in the Senate and “take back the House.”
“The presidential election is incredibly important and will set the tone for the future, but I also want to highlight what we need to do to keep the Senate and win seats in the House of Representatives,” Harris said.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHCI) Leadership Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building, Wednesday, September 18, 2024, in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Harris, who has made abortion access a central issue of her campaign, said Congress needs to legislate abortion in 2022. Roe v. Wade He said he would sign the bill into law and that “if the filibuster would be an obstacle, the Senate would need to make an exception to pass the bill.”
“With just two more seats in the Senate, we could enact Roe v. Wade and enshrine the protections of Roe into law,” Harris said in September 2022. “With just two more seats, United States Senate Seats“That will get the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act passed. And we'll get two more seats.”
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“You know, our President Joe Biden“He's made it clear, he's tired of the outdated Senate rules that are getting in the way of these two issues,” Harris said of the Senate filibuster in 2022. “He's made that clear and said he's not going to allow them to get in the way of these two issues. And, you know, I'm both the vice president and the president of the Senate. I can't wait to cast the deciding vote to break the filibuster on voting rights and reproductive rights. I can't wait! 59 days.”
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris waves during a campaign event in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, Friday, September 20, 2024. (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Democrats would need to maintain control of the Senate to change the rules affecting the filibuster.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Harris campaign and Sen. Sinema's office for comment.
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Fox News Digital's Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.
