Topline

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on Wednesday confirmed a commitment she made privately to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in January: She won’t vote to scrap the legislative filibuster, even as it threatens to stymie major Democratic legislation the Senate is set to consider.

Key Facts

Asked if she would budge on the issue during a stop at the border with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and other lawmakers, Sinema said simply: “No.”

The Arizona senator, known for her independence from the Democratic caucus, said she rejects the “false choice” between the filibuster and Democratic legislation.

The filibuster, which requires 60 votes – 10 Republicans in the deadlocked Senate – to pass bills, is poised to block House-passed bills on gun control, LGBTQ rights and election reform.

Sinema conceded that the Senate, which has become increasingly unproductive in recent years, is not a “well-oiled machine,” but argued a change in “behavior” is needed rather than a change in Senate rules.

The comments come after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) vowed not to nuke or weaken the filibuster even in response to Republicans using it to block the Jan. 6 commission.

Crucial Quote

"I had a personal family matter,” Sinema said of her absence from the Senate vote on the Jan. 6 commission last Friday, the same excuse given by Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.). All three senators said they would have voted in favor of the commission.

Big Number

11. That’s how many senators were absent from the commission vote – which failed 54-35, six short of what was needed to pass. Eight of the 11 were Republicans who had said in advance they opposed the commission, meaning it likely still would have failed 57-43.

Chief Critic

“We have seen the limits of bipartisanship and the resurgence of Republican obstructionism,” Senate Majority Leader Schumer said in a letter to colleagues after the commission vote, while vowing to put Democrats’ sweeping election reform bill, which Manchin and Republicans oppose, up for a vote by the end of June.

Tangent

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi laid out four ways to proceed with investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in a call with House Democrats on Tuesday: allow committees to continue their probes, empower a single standing committee, impanel a Benghazi-style select committee or allow the Senate to vote again on the commission. Schumer said in his letter he reserves the right to bring it up for another vote.

What To Watch For

Schumer also suggested the Senate would take up consideration of House-passed bills expanding LGBTQ rights and closing gun background check loopholes, both of which likely lack the Republican votes needed to overcome the filibuster.