Sinema says dear friend McCarthy in unenviable position after spokesman

Sinema says ‘dear friend’ McCarthy in ‘unenviable position’ after spokesman fight

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) railed against both political parties during an appearance at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, saying “radical” Republicans had put Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in an “unenviable position” at the start of the new congress.

Sinema took the opportunity at a panel with fellow US lawmakers in Davos, Switzerland, to chide both Republicans and Democrats for working to “get whatever they want.”

Targeting Republicans trying to block McCarthy’s election as speaker this month, she said the California Republican, whom she called a “dear friend,” has “needed to support the GOP’s radical right to the point where he is.” , keep making concessions”. now in an unenviable position.”

“This will make it very difficult for us to meet our commitment when the debt ceiling battle comes later this year,” Sinema said.

During her speech, the new independent senator celebrated her efforts, along with Sen. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.), who was also on the panel, to block filibuster reform in the Senate and most recently to resist a sweeping voting rights package in Congress.

She said the filibuster was an “important guard rail for the institution” and offended Democrats who argued that without the voting rights package, the US “won’t have free elections anymore,” saying the country would have free elections in 2022 without the passage of the law.

“One could posit that a political party’s push to remove a key guard rail in an institution in our country may have been premature or excessive in order to achieve the desired near-term victories,” Sinema said.

Sinema and Manchin have been key obstacles to Democrat efforts to reform the filibuster, wiping out any chance the party has of getting a voting rights package through the Senate.

The Arizona senator said the two cases are examples of “the move that political parties make to get whatever they want.”

For the latest news, weather, sports and streaming video visit The Hill.