Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s dramatic negative vote against the $ 15 minimum wage

Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s dramatic negative vote against the $ 15 minimum wage

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  • A video by Senator Kyrsten Sinema dramatically stating her “no” in a move to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 infuriated progressives on Friday.
  • Sinema seemed to bow as she lowered her thumb down on the Senate clerk, prompting some progressives to condemn her for looking enthusiastic.
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Senator Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat, dramatically indicated her “no” vote with a thumbs down to the Senate registrar on a measure to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour on Friday.

Some progressives attacked the moderate Democrat for looking enthusiastic about denying tens of millions of Americans. Sinema’s somewhat theatrical move brought to mind Arizona Senator John McCain’s famous negative vote on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act in 2017.

A Democrat adviser Julian Castro tweeted alongside a video of the Sinema vote: “Did Sinema really vote against a $ 15 minimum wage for 24 million people like this?” Representative Mark Pocan, a Wisconsin progressive, tweeted a statement made by Sinema in 2014 supporting an increase in the minimum wage to $ 10.74.

“Anyone who earns a full-time minimum wage earns less than $ 16,000 a year,” wrote Sinema. “This is a no-brainer. Tell Congress to #RaiseTheWage!”

Pocan commented, “Wow.” Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York Democrat, retweeted the message.

Sinema was one of seven Democratic senators and an independent who voted against raising the federal minimum wage to $ 15 by 2025 as part of President Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package. All 50 Republicans oppose the measure and it appeared to be doomed to fail on Friday.

But Sinema and other Democratic senators who voted against the measure suggested that they would be open to passing a higher minimum wage after the relief bill is passed.

“Senators from both parties have shown support for raising the federal minimum wage, and the Senate should hold an open debate and amendment process on raising the minimum wage, separate from the reconciliation project focused on Covid,” said Sinema in a statement. communicated.

More than 800,000 people in Sinema’s home state earn less than $ 15 an hour and will be affected by Sinema’s vote, a recent study concluded.

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