Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) on Friday dismissed recent scrutiny from her Democratic colleagues as the Arizona lawmaker prepares for the end of her first and only term in the upper chamber.
Sinema, who opted against running for reelection earlier this year, faced her latest wave of pushback from the left after she and Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) blocked the renomination of Lauren McFerran to the National Labor Relations Board, which opened the door for Republican control of the board under President-elect Trump.
In an exit interview with Semafor published Friday, Sinema waved away the pushback, saying she didn’t “give a s‑‑‑.”
“I know some people think I’m, like, this enigma or whatever, but I don’t think that’s true at all,” Sinema told Semafor. “I think, maybe, this is a place where sometimes people say things that they don’t mean. I am not one of those people … I think I’m highly predictable.”
Both Sinema and Manchin began their terms as Democrats but left the party after facing widespread anger from the party for putting up roadblocks to some liberal priorities under President Biden, in part by staunchly backing the Senate filibuster.
Many in the left wanted Democrats to seek to end the filibuster, at least for priority issues like voting and reproductive rights, which Republicans have largely blocked using the procedural tool.
However, Sinema told Semafor that one Democratic senator, whom she did not identify, reached out to her admitting she was right about her protection of the filibuster.
“One person reached out to me after the election and apologized — and said I was right,” she told Semafor.
Sinema was also opposed to Biden’s plan to raise the corporate tax rate. However, she took leading roles in negotiating infrastructure and gun violence legislation that gave Biden some of his biggest legislative victories.
Sinema registered as an independent in 2022, saying she’s “never fit into any party box.”
“I don’t want to,” she said in late 2022. “Removing myself from the partisan structure — not only is it true to who I am and how I operate, I also think it’ll provide a place of belonging for many folks across the state and the country who also are tired of the partisanship.”
Ruben Gallego (D), a retired Marine and longtime U.S. House representative, will move into Sinema’s Senate seat after he beat Republican candidate Kari Lake. Sinema was reluctant to talk about what kind of senator she thinks Gallego will be during her Semafor interview.
She also declined to say whom she voted for in the presidential election.
Sinema told Semafor that “she’s done with politics” and said she’s becoming “happier” as the end of her term nears.
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