Sen. Kyrsten Sinema soaks up ‘schadenfreude’ after Democrats reluctantly admit filibuster will help them end Trump’s agenda

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) appeared amused Monday by her colleagues’ sudden outpouring of support for the Systematic obstruction of the Senate as Democrats prepare to become the minority party in the upper house.

“Please, please stop what you’re doing and read these quotes,” the Democrat-turned-independent wrote on X, linking to a History of the Washington Examiner on senators from his former party who now support the procedural obstacle.

“Filed under: schadenfreude,” Sinema added.

The outlet cites a number of prominent Democrats, including Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), signaling their support for the filibuster. as a way to block President-elect Donald Trump’s new agenda.

“I would be lying if I said we would be in a better position without the filibuster,” Blumenthal said. “We have a responsibility to end persistent autocratic abuses of power or policies, and we will use every tool at our disposal. We are not going to fight this battle with our hands tied behind our backs.”

“We had to live with it when we were in the majority,” Durbin said of the rule requiring a 60-vote threshold to end debate and pass most types of legislation in the upper chamber.

The Illinois Democrat added that he views the filibuster as “part of the calculus” of how Democrats will operate with a 53-47 Republican majority in the Senate come January.

“You’re playing with the rules that exist,” Murphy told the outlet, emphasizing that while he’s open to changing the rules on the filibuster, he doesn’t want to “erase” them anymore.

The Connecticut Democrat called the Senate filibuster “downright dangerous” in 2021, calling it “a slap in the face to majoritarianism.”

Schatz, who denounced Republicans’ “unprecedented abuse of the filibuster” during the Obama administration while endorsing the reforms, told the Washington Examiner that he was “going to try not to mess up my position on this.” point “.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attempted to neutralize the filibuster in 2022, but failed when then-Democratic Sens. Sinema and Joe Manchin (IW.Va.) declined to vote in favor of the rule change.

In August, when asked about a possible attempt to kill the filibuster again, Schumer (D-NY) noted to the Post that Sinema and Manchin are “both gone” in 2025.

Manchin and Sinema did not seek re-election this year and are retiring from the Senate.

A spokesperson for Schumer did not respond to The Post’s request for comment on whether he supports continuing the filibuster with Republicans controlling the Senate, House and White House.