A bipartisan, $1 trillion infrastructure package cleared another legislative hurdle in the U.S. Senate on Monday afternoon, a step Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema hailed as a sign that “our democracy still works.”
The infrastructure spending plan, a top priority of President Joe Biden, was brokered in part by Sinema, who’s taken heat from some Arizona Democrats for refusing to alter the Senate’s filibuster rules in order to pass legislation that only Democrats support.
Instead, Sinema has staked her political future to what she described on Monday as a more McCain-like approach.
“In Washington, palace-intrigue and insider-drama often steal the spotlight from important policy issues. But I promised Arizonans something different,” Sinema said during a speech on the Senate floor. “I chose instead to follow the example of Senator John McCain, who as the Arizona Republic recently recalled, ‘refused to demonize the opposition party and worked to reach bipartisan agreements that tried to bring the country together.’”
Sinema said the infrastructure plan is “the perfect example” of her efforts to deliver bipartisan results.
“This is what it looks like for elected leaders to ignore the extreme rhetoric and the cheap political attacks, and put energy instead into delivering lasting results that matter to everyday Americans,” she said.
Sinema also touted spending in the $1 trillion package for water storage and drought contingency plans in parched Western states like Arizona, as well as water infrastructure spending in tribal communities.”
