An Arizona Democrat accused Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) of wanting their party to lose control of the House and Senate.
Rep. Ruben Gallego took to Twitter to react to Sinema’s comments during an event at the McConnell Center.
“As you all know, control changes between the House and the Senate every couple of years. It’s likely to change again in just a few weeks,” Sinema said.
Gallego reacted, saying, “I mean you could be out there helping our candidates [Senator Sinema]. But my sense is that you would actually prefer the Dems lose control of the Senate and House.”
I mean you could be out there helping our candidates @SenatorSinema But my sense is that you would actually prefer the Dems lose control of the Senate and House. https://t.co/Okwg1lyZUT
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) September 26, 2022
He continued, “Now that I think of it. I have been traveling the state and country. Donating, raising funds and encouraging people to come out and vote and I have seen you nowhere [Senator Sinema].”
Now that I think of it. I have been traveling the state and country. Donating, raising funds and encouraging people to come out and vote and I have seen you nowhere @SenatorSinema https://t.co/6mYF1TkFOd
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) September 26, 2022
Sinema’s team told the Washington Examiner she has donated more than $140,000 to Democratic candidates during this election cycle.
Additionally, during the event, Sinema defended the filibuster, as IJR reported.
She pointed out the House stands for the “passions in the moment,” which tend to be “a little bit over-eager.”
Sinema explained, “The Senate’s job is to cool that passion.”
She continued, “The Senate was designed to be a place that moves slowly. To cool down those passions. To think more strategically and long-term about the legislation before us. And more importantly, it was designed to require comity, to require people to compromise and work together.”
The senator previously crushed President Joe Biden’s push to kill the filibuster for voting rights legislation, as IJR previously reported.
“I share the concerns of civil right advocates and others I’ve heard from in recent months about these state laws. I strongly support those efforts to contest these laws in court and to invest significant resources into these states to better organize and stop efforts to restrict access at the ballot box,” Sinema said.
She added, “And I strongly support and will continue to vote for legislative responses to address these state laws, including the Freedom To Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act that the Senate is currently considering.”
Sinema continued, “These bills help treat the symptoms of the disease, but they do not fully address the disease itself. And while I continue to support these bills, I will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country.”