Democrats celebrated a deal between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin but Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema remains a question mark, Politico reports.
Sinema has not commented on the surprise deal struck on Wednesday and her office has said that she will hold off discussing the bill until she has read the text and reviewed the related rulings from the Senate parliamentarian.
It’s unclear when Sinema may make a decision with the Senate speeding toward a vote as soon as next week.
Sinema, who skipped the Democrats’ caucus meeting on Thursday, has been “frustrated” that she was not included in the discussions, a source told Politico.
Another person described her as “totally shocked.”
GOP targets Sinema:
Republicans seem to think Sinema is their last hope to stop the bill from passing.
“She was not consulted,” said Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the House. “I know I can trust her when she tells me something. I’m beginning to think I can’t trust other people around here when they tell me something, because they so routinely lie about it.”
Democrats stress:
Democrats anxiously await Sinema’s decision. She previously expressed support for climate-related measures included in the deal but has opposed closing the carried interest loophole, which allows certain financial firms to pay lower tax rates. Manchin has insisted on including it in the bill.
Manchin told reporters that he’s “adamant” on the measure but hopes that “she would be receptive” to the package.
Schumer has repeatedly declined to discuss Sinema’s holdout vote.
“You saw what she said,” he said. “So I say, no comment. I’m not going to talk about Sinema, period.”
