Kyrsten Sinema responds to Democrats admitting filibuster will help them stop Trump agenda: ‘Schadenfreude’

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party nearly two years ago, took to social media to poke fun at Senate Democrats for their newfound support of the filibuster after years of calling for its abolition to push through the Democratic agenda.

In response to a report by the Washington Examiner citing Democratic senators who now support the filibuster to block President-elect Trump’s agenda in his second administration, Sinema wrote on X, “Please, please, please stop what you’re doing and read these quotes.” She followed up by saying, “Filing under: schadenfreude.”

Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin, who also left the Democratic Party to become an independent, were the two senators who opposed eliminating the filibuster during the Biden administration when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer attempted to abolish it in 2022. Without the support of Sinema and Manchin, Schumer was unsuccessful in his attempt to eliminate the filibuster in a razor-thin majority for Democrats.

Both independent senators did not run for re-election and will be leaving the Senate in January. In August, Schumer acknowledged that both Sinema and Manchin would be leaving in 2025 and indicated he might make another attempt to eliminate the filibuster.

After the election, Schumer urged Republicans to prioritize bipartisanship. Sinema responded to Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who said she would not support eliminating the filibuster now that the GOP will control the House, Senate, and White House but would have supported it if Democrats had the trifecta. Sinema’s response on X was a simple, “You don’t say?”

The report from the Washington Examiner quoted several Senate Democrats, including Sens. Dick Durbin, Brian Schatz, Chris Murphy, and Richard Blumenthal, expressing support for maintaining the filibuster to halt Trump-backed legislation. Blumenthal emphasized the need to prevent autocratic abuse of power, while Durbin viewed the filibuster as part of the strategy to resist Republican bills in the next Congress.

Schatz acknowledged the challenges of navigating the filibuster issue, and Murphy indicated openness to changes but not to completely eliminating the filibuster. Thune, the incoming Senate GOP Leader, assured that the filibuster would be safe under Republican control, even if it blocked Trump’s agenda.

In light of these developments, the debate over the filibuster continues to be a contentious issue in the Senate. As the political landscape shifts, both parties grapple with how to navigate the filibuster and its implications for governance and bipartisanship in the future.