Sen. Kyrsten Sinema soaks in ‘schadenfreude’ after Dems begrudgingly admit filibuster will help them halt Trump agenda
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) appeared amused Monday at the sudden wave of support from her colleagues for the Senate filibuster as the Democrats prepare to become the minority party in the upper chamber.
“Please, please, please stop what you’re doing and read these quotes,” the Democrat-turned-independent wrote on X, linking to a Washington Examiner story on senators from her former party that are now backing the procedural hurdle.
“Filing under: schadenfreude,” Sinema added.
The outlet quotes a number of prominent Democrats, including Sens.Dick Durbin (D-Ill), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) signaling support for the filibuster as a means to block President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming agenda.
“I’d be lying if I said we’d be in a better position without the filibuster,” Blumenthal said. “We have a responsibility to stop autocratic and long-headed abuse of power or policy, and we’ll use whatever tools we have available. We’re not going to fight this battle with one hand tied behind our back.”
“We had to live with it when we were in the majority,” Durbin said of the rule requiring a 60-vote threshold to end debate and pass most types of legislation in the upper chamber.
The Illinois Democrat added that he views the filibuster as “part of the calculation” to how Democrats will operate with a 53-47 GOP majority in the Senate come January.
“You play with the rules that exist,” Murphy told the outlet, emphasizing that while he is open to modifying the filibuster rules he no longer wants to “obliterate” it.
The Connecticut Democrat referred to the Senate filibuster as “downright dangerous” in 2021, calling it a “slap in the face to majoritarianism.”
Schatz, who railed against the “unprecedented abuse of the filibuster by Republicans” during the Obama administration while endorsing reforms, told the Washington Examiner he’s “going to try not to make a mess of my position on this one.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attempted to nuke the filibuster in 2022 but failed when then-Democratic Sens. Sinema and Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) refused to vote in favor of the rule change.
In August, when asked about potentially attempting to kill the filibuster again, Schumer (D-NY) noted to The Post that Sinema and Manchin are “both gone” in 2025.
Manchin and Sinema did not seek re-election this year and are retiring from the Senate.
A spokesperson for Schumer did not respond to The Post’s request for comment about whether he supports keeping the filibuster in place with Republicans in control of the Senate, House and White House.
