OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
One of the most moderate Democrats in the country has been facing enormous pressure of late to switch parties.
During an interview with Politico, Arizona Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema made it clear that she has no plans to switch parties.
“No. Why would I do that?” Sinema told the outlet.
Sinema has faced harsh criticism from Democrats, especially after she and Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin have blocked much of Joe Biden’s agenda.
Sinema and Manchin have stood firm against some of the more radical proposals, including a bill that would have cost $3 trillion and had no Republican support.
Sinema told Politico that she will not bow to the idea that each party should always be unified.
“I’ve been concerned at the push that happens in both parties, this push to have no disagreements. To only have unity or to only speak with one voice. And some will say, ‘Oh, that is our strength,’” she told Politico. “Having some disagreement is normal. It is real, it is human. And it’s an opportunity for us as mature beings to work through it.”
“How many times have we heard that bipartisanship isn’t possible anymore or that important policy can only happen on a party line? This legislation proves the opposite, and the senators who negotiated this legislation showed how to get things done,” Sinema told the bill signing ceremony on Monday.
Just before signing it, Biden said it was “proof that despite the cynics Democrats and Republicans can come together and deliver results.”
Sinema spoke to Politico just after the ceremony and said she will continue to work with her colleagues.
“I’m still in the process of negotiating the second provision of the president’s agenda … and I don’t negotiate in the press,” she said.
Centrist @SenatorSinema says she won’t become a Republican, despite criticism and push from members of her own party.
"Having some disagreement is normal. It is real, it is human. And it's an opportunity for us as mature beings to work through it."https://t.co/NCbwrfBXCb
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) November 17, 2021
Sinema also came under fire from Democrats when she teamed up with a top Republican to address the border crisis.
Sinema joined GOP Texas Sen. John Cornyn to introduce a bipartisan bill aimed at blunting the southern border crisis.
The bill would address the Biden administration’s ability to handle the surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, attempt to streamline migrant asylum claims in a “timely” manner and deter those unlikely to be approved, and also “protect unaccompanied migrant children.”
Last month, the two senators wrote a joint letter to Biden, asking him to secure the border.
“It is critical that our nation take aggressive steps to secure our border, protect our communities and ensure migrants are treated fairly and humanely,” Cornyn and Sinema wrote.
“We pledge to work with our Congressional colleagues to develop bipartisan and commonsense responses to the surge of migrants at the border, and hope to collaborate with you, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the rest of your Administration to tackle this challenge,” they added in the letter.
Not long after Joe Biden claimed the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border is “under control,” new data reveals that Biden could not be further from the truth.
Chief Patrol Chief Chris Clem tweeted that the Yuma Sector, which stretches across Arizona’s border with Mexico, apprehended over 1,600 illegal immigrants over the weekend.
And that is just at one major border sector. There are dozens more.
Biden and Kamala Harris are now facing fury from Democrats as to his handling, or really their creation, of the current border crisis.
Sinema also criticized the Biden Administration’s handling of the border crisis.
