Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz., Iowa) seemed amused Monday by the sudden wave of support from her colleagues for the Senate filibuster as Democrats prepare to become the minority party in the Senate.
“Please, please, stop what you're doing and read these quotes,” the Democratic-turned-independent wrote to X. The Washington Examiner's Story About how senators from her former party now support procedural hurdles.
“Filed under Schadenfreude,” Sinema added.
The paper also includes Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) ) have reportedly indicated support for a filibuster. as a means to block President-elect Donald Trump's future agenda.
“I would be lying if I said we would have been in a better position without the filibuster,” Blumenthal said. “We have a responsibility to stop authoritarian and long-term abuses of power and policy, and we will use every tool available to us. We will fight this fight with one hand tied behind our backs. No.”
“We had to put up with it when we had the majority,” Durbin said of the rules that end debate in the Senate and require a 60-vote threshold to pass most types of legislation. .
The Illinois Democrat added that he believes the filibuster is “part of the calculation” for how Democrats will operate with a 53-47 Republican majority in the Senate in January.
“We're playing with the rules that exist,” Murphy told the outlet, stressing that while he's open to changing the filibuster rules, he no longer wants to “wipe them out.”
The Connecticut Democrat called the 2021 Senate filibuster “downright dangerous” and a “slap in the face to majoritarianism.”
Schatz, who supported reform but blasted the “unprecedented abuse of the filibuster by Republicans” during the Obama administration, told the Washington Examiner: “I'm going to try not to undermine my position on this. ” he said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) tried to invoke a filibuster in 2022, but then-Democrats Sen. Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin (Idaho, Va.) changed the rules. It failed because he refused to vote in favor.
Asked in August about the possibility of another filibuster attempt, Schumer (D-N.Y.) pointed out to the Post that Sinema and Manchin “will both be gone” in 2025.
Manchin and Sinema are not seeking re-election this year and are retiring from the Senate.
A spokesperson for Mr. Schumer did not respond to The Post's request for comment on whether he supports continuing the filibuster with Republicans in control of the Senate, House and White House.
