Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on Saturday came out strong against her party's decision — one backed by President Biden — to delay a vote on the Senate's bipartisan infrastructure bill until their larger, more sweeping reconciliation package is ready to go.
The centrist Sinema is not a fan of tying the two pieces of legislation together, as she reiterated in Saturday's statement. She called the dual-track approach "an ineffective stunt" and said she has "never, and would never, agree to any bargain that would hold one piece of legislation hostage to another."
While she didn't mention them by name, Sinema also appeared to take aim at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). "Over the course of this year, Democratic leaders have made conflicting promises that could not be kept — and have, at times, pretended that differences of opinion within our party did not exist," she said.
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The statement doesn't necessarily mean Sinema won't eventually reach an agreement with her colleagues on a scaled-down reconciliation bill, but it also probably isn't raising too many spirits during a contentious time within the party, either.
It's also worth noting that Sinema wasn't the only Democratic senator to express disappointment in how things have played out.
