The bold move by the nation’s most famous senator stunned his colleagues and possibly put the Senate on the verge of protracted bipartisan talks that McCain is unlikely to witness as he begins treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer. Not since September 2008, when the House of Representatives rejected the Troubled Asset Relief Program - causing the Dow Jones industrial average to plunge nearly 800 points in a single afternoon - had such an unexpected vote caused such a striking twist.
John McCain (R-Ariz.) kept his colleagues and the press corps in suspense over a little more than two hours late Thursday into early Friday. Just ask the senators who witnessed it.Ī seven-year quest to undo the Affordable Care Act collapsed - at least for now - as Sen. The Senate stalled for about nine hours on Friday while senators negotiated proposed changes to the stimulus package’s unemployment benefits, amid voting on a flurry of amendments dubbed a “vote-a-rama.” The chamber is poised to press forward after Manchin said he would support a compromise deal.It was the most dramatic night in the United States Senate in recent history. “Did Sinema really have vote against a $15 minimum wage for 24 million people like this?” asked Sawyer Hackett, a senior adviser to former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wrote on Twitter, “to go home and ask minimum wage workers to support you after going back on your own documented stance to help crush their biggest chance at a wage hike during their longest drought of wage increases since the law’s very inception.” Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said Sinema’s perceived change from a 2014 tweet supporting increased wages to “gleefully voting no is really disturbing.” Some were confused by her vote given her previously stated support for an increase in wages, including some progressive lawmakers. a2VkwKcY8r- Kyrsten Sinema March 5, 2021Ĭritics said Sinema’s thumbs down displayed insensitivity. Others said Sinema’s vote would hurt workers strapped in a challenging economy, as opposed to McCain’s vote to preserve health care for many. Some drew comparisons between the lawmaker because they voted against their own parties.
Sinema’s name trended on Twitter alongside McCain’s on Friday. John McCain, R-Ariz., whose thumbs-down on a move by Republicans to overturn the Affordable Care Act in 2017 became an iconic moment. Sinema’s actions were reminiscent to many of a similar move by the late Sen. Mark Kelly, Arizona’s other Democratic senator, used a thumbs up to register his support for the amendment on Friday. Hand gestures have been more frequently used during the COVID-19 pandemic while lawmakers wear masks during their votes. While hand signals are not an uncommon way for senators to vote, some thought it was callous given the nature of the vote. Sinema stood on the Senate floor and flashed a thumbs down when her name was called to vote. It was the way she did it that drew condemnation on social media and some comparisons to the late John McCain. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat, sided with Republicans and seven other senators from her party to vote down a minimum wage increase amendment to President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill.
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