SINEMA BEGINS WORK IN D.C.
Congresswoman doesn’t oppose Schumer as leader
Democratic U.S. Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema did not dissent Wednesday during the closed-doors re-election of Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader.
Schumer, the four-term New York senator, ran unopposed for the Democratic leadership post, which was decided by acclamation, not by casting votes.
Sinema returned to Capitol Hill this week after her historic win over Republican Martha McSally for Arizona’s open seat. During the hard-fought campaign,
“It’s time for a new approach on both sides of the aisle and I look forward to working with my colleagues to cut through the dysfunction and deliver results for Arizona.” Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema D-Ariz.
she told The Arizona Republic and Politico that she would not support Schumer for a leadership post.
She explained her thought-process on Wednesday’s acclamation in a written statement.
“Arizonans know I will work with anyone — in either party — to get things done for our state,” Sinema’s statement said. “It’s time for a new approach on both sides of the aisle and I look forward to working with my colleagues to cut through the dysfunction and deliver results for Arizona. Had there been a challenger for Minority Leader, I would have considered new leadership and a fresh perspective. I will continue to put Arizona over party.”
That fell flat with Republicans, who immediately accused her of doublecrossing voters.
In a press release headlined, “Kyrsten Sinema Sells Out Arizona In Record Time,” the GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund posted a picture of Sinema sitting with Schumer and asked, “So how long until Sinema says the only reason she sat down for a photo op with Schumer on the day before the vote was because there were no other chairs for her to sit in?”
Sinema has offered sharp assessments of the Democratic Party and three times voted against Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in House of Representatives leadership votes.
During her senatorial bid, she worked to distance herself from party bosses while executing a campaign that rarely invoked her Democratic affiliation.
Schumer helped clear the field for Sinema’s run as early as last summer, even before incumbent Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., announced that he would not run for re-election.
While Sinema tried to keep Schumer at a distance, his allies invested in Arizona’s Senate race to help her defeat McSally, a favorite of national Republican leaders.
During an interview with The Republic
on July 2, Sinema confirmed reporting by Politico in which she said she would vote against Schumer for a leadership post.
During that conversation, she would not say who she might support to lead her party, saying “I have to get elected first.”
Asked who she might support for the post, or sees herself naturally aligning with, Sinema said, “I haven’t gotten that far yet. You shouldn’t put the cart before the horse, right? You should never measure the drapes.”
Bruce Oppenheimer, a political-science professor at Vanderbilt University who researches the congressional process, said the acclamation process essentially prevented a record of support.
“People aren’t on the record as voting for him,” he said. “There’s nothing where you formally voted. Nobody objected, there was no other candidate ... the point is, she didn’t have the option of not voting for him.”
Oppenheimer said the process inherently allows for ambiguity.
“There’s a lot of things which are ambiguous,” he said. “What does it mean to not vote for somebody? Sometimes it’s clear and sometimes it isn’t.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was reelected Wednesday as Senate majority leader.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., won his bid for House minority leader, defeating Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
Pelosi is vying again to be House speaker, but her bid is uncertain.
Democrats will control the chamber again starting in January, but many Democratic lawmakers have vowed to vote against her. Pelosi has said she is confident she will secure the position.
On Wednesday, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland had secured enough support to be elected House majority leader in the next Congress. He had support from four of Arizona’s five elected Democrats.
U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., did not join a letter supporting his bid.
“Arizonans know I will work with anyone — in either party — to get things done for our state.” Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema D-Ariz.