Where Arizona senators stand on the filibuster

WASHINGTON, DC (KOLD) – In a new Washington Post op-ed, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema says she’s long been for keeping the United States Senate’s 60-vote requirement in place. It’s called the filibuster and sets the bar for passing major legislation.

Part of the senator’s op-ed reads; “If anyone expected me to reverse my position because my party now controls the Senate, they should know that my approach to legislating in Congress is the same whether in the minority or majority.”

Eliminating the filibuster would lower the threshold to pass bills from 60 votes to a simple majority of 51. With Democrats in control now because of a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Kamala Harris, some moderate Democrats, like Sens. Sinema and Joe Manchin of West Virginia are under more pressure to help get rid of the procedural tool.

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly won’t say if he will or won’t help eliminate the filibuster. Instead, telling KOLD he’ll review any proposal.

“The rules can be changed”, he said. “I’ll evaluate any real proposal in changing rules not based on what’s best for Democrats and Republicans, but what’s best for our country and the state of Arizona. We don’t have a real proposal on that yet.”

The issue of what to do about the filibuster likely isn’t going away soon. Many big proposed pieces of legislation have 51 votes needed to pass, but not 60.