Sinema defends filibuster ahead of Senate voting rights showdown
By Jordain Carney - 06/21/21 10:00 PM EDT
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) is digging in on her opposition to nixing the 60-vote legislative filibuster amid growing pressure from progressives to change the rules to help pass voting rights.
Sinema, in a Washington Post op-ed, argued that nixing the legislative filibuster would weaken "democracy's guardrails" and that the country would "lose much more than we gain."
"It’s no secret that I oppose eliminating the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. ... My support for retaining the 60-vote threshold is not based on the importance of any particular policy. It is based on what is best for our democracy. The filibuster compels moderation and helps protect the country from wild swings between opposing policy poles," Sinema wrote.
Sinema's op-ed comes one day before the Senate will hold a vote on trying to advance the For the People Act, a sweeping bill to overhaul federal elections. Sinema supports the bill, but it is guaranteed to fail to advance because of a GOP filibuster.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/559519-sinema-defends-filibuster-ahead-of-senate-voting-rights-showdown
