Kyrsten Sinema says she missed Jan. 6 commission vote because of family matters

Arizona Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema has been facing scrutiny from many members of her party in recent days. Following the Republicans’ filibuster to the January 6 commission vote, Sinema said that she had a personal family matter to attend to, resulting in her not voting.

Sinema was one of two Democratic Senators who did not vote last week when the bipartisan proposal of a Jan. 6 commission was on the Senate floor. Thus, the bipartisan proposal for a Jan. 6 commission failed to pass the Senate through filibuster rules. Speaking to the Arizona Republic, Sinema said why she was not present to vote for the commission.

“I had a personal family matter,” said the Democratic lawmaker, who did not disclose any further details.

Nine other Senators were not present to vote for the Jan. 6 commission despite the proposal receiving a bipartisan vote in the upper chamber as well as the House when the bill initially passed. Six GOP Senators voted in favor of the commission but the overall votes failed to reach the threshold of votes needed due to Senate filibuster rules.

Sinema has been widely criticized by members of her own party along with West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, for their staunch opposition to abolishing the filibuster in the Senate. This comes as a sweeping voter protection bill is set to make its way to the Senate floor for a vote this month, a bill which Sinema co-sponsored but Manchin has opposed.

The Arizona lawmaker has once again sparked backlash from members of her party when she doubled down on her opposition to abolish the filibuster. Sinema told reporters that the filibuster would protect the country’s democracy and that people should fix their behavior rather than eliminate or change the Senate rules. Sinema went on to explain that she thought the filibuster encourages bipartisanship, forcing lawmakers of both sides to work together.

Many progressive Democrats have since criticized Sinema’s comments, saying that the Arizona lawmaker is out of touch with how the filibuster has been used in recent years.

President Joe Biden has also made what was widely perceived as a veiled reference to both Sinema and Manchin, when explaining why he has yet to push the more ambitious parts of his agenda, especially with the voting bill. “I hear all the folks on TV saying, ‘Why doesn’t Biden get this done?’ Well, because Biden only has a majority of effectively four votes in the House and a tie in the Senate, with two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends,” said Biden.