Sinema and Manchin high-five at Davos over blocking filibuster reform

Sens. Kirsten Sinema (I-Az.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) high-fived over their efforts to block Senate filibuster reform on stage at a panel with other U.S. lawmakers and governors in Davos, Switzerland.

Sinema was touting the duo’s accomplishments as a moderating force in the Senate — which included blocking changes to the filibuster — when Manchin chimed in.

“We still don’t agree on getting rid of the filibuster,” Manchin said before they turned to each other and high-fived.

The lawmakers’ intransigence on the filibuster effectively blocked key Democratic legislative priorities, such as voting rights reforms and codifying abortion rights, over the past two years. Sinema, who left the Democratic Party to become an independent last month, used the outing at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting to take a victory lap.

“While some would say that there were reluctant folks working in Congress in the last two years,” she said, gesturing at herself and Manchin, “I would actually say that was the basis for the productivity for some incredible achievements that made a difference for the American people in the last two years.”

Sinema was apparently jabbing back at fellow panelist Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker (D), who had knocked the senators for their pushback to some of President Biden’s agenda.

“[Biden] has worked with some reluctant members of his own party,” Pritzker said, motioning toward the side of the stage with Manchin and Sinema. “But we have gotten things done for the United States at the federal level under this president.”

Sinema called the filibuster an “important guardrail for the institution” and dinged Democrats who argued the U.S. would “not have any more” free elections without the voting rights package, saying the country had free elections in 2022 without the legislation passing.

“One could posit that the push by one political party to eliminate an important guardrail in an institution in our country may have been premature or overreaching in order to get the short-term victories they wanted,” Sinema said.