sINEMADuring an appearance on C-SPAN this week, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) — a longtime member of Congress and a current vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — backed the removal of Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) from Congress in the event that they derail a certain key component of the Democratic agenda. At present, Manchin and Sinema have been impeding progress on a spending plan worth trillions of dollars that would support a raft of critical social initiatives, from fighting climate change to making health care more accessible. Because of the exemption from the Senate’s filibuster rules provided to certain budget-related bills, Democrats could pass the plan on their own — leaving Manchin and Sinema among those most chiefly to blame for the hold-up.
Complaints from Manchin and Sinema have varied, but their obstruction has already had substantial effects with no immediate sign of the developments getting reversed. A plan for universal paid family leave for Americans, which would allow new parents a chance to take care of their new children without potentially jeopardizing their employment, was removed from the bill amid Manchin’s opposition. Although Democrats can pass the agenda — in whatever form that it ends up taking — on their own, they can not afford to lose a single vote in the Senate, meaning that Sinema and Manchin must be on-board.
Schakowsky commented as follows, referring to the two Senators:
‘If we can’t get some sort of a commitment from them, then I don’t see how we can move this process forward. They are the ones [in the way] — I don’t want to hear about progressives being blamed, or Democrats being blamed for stalling this. There are two people right now in the Senate — if they make a commitment, we’re on.’
Asked about what she wants to see unfold with Manchin and Sinema’s political position if the plan fails to materialize, the Congresswoman added the following:
‘I think they’re going to be up for elections before too long… I think that the voters ought to say, enough games, we’ve had enough of you, and to look for other employment.’
Asked for clarification whether she thinks they should “lose their seats,” Schakowsky indicated that yes, she does. It seems safe to assume that she is not the only prominent Democrat who thinks as such. Check out the Congresswoman’s comments below:
… rep. jan schakowsky (d-illinois) tells @cspan sinema & manchin should lose their seats if build back better fails. pic.twitter.com/gvMlJ9uMIL
— fake nick ramsey (@nick_ramsey) October 28, 2021
