Arizona GOP Gov. Doug Ducey said he expects moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., to relent to progressives and support Democrats' massive social-spending bill, according to the Washington Examiner.
"She's a politician, so of course she's going to cave," Ducey told the Examiner on Wednesday afternoon.
President Joe Biden has proposed a $3.5 trillion spending bill that has the support of liberal Democrats who include self-proclaimed socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Biden’s proposal would significantly expand the federal budget for social programs and anti-climate change efforts.
Democrats aim to avoid a GOP filibuster by passing the legislation via reconciliation, with Vice President Kamala Harris providing a tiebreaking vote. However, that demands that all Democrats support the bill. Currently, Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., are opposed to it.
Progressive activists have accosted Sinema, targeting her in a public bathroom and following her through an airport.
"It is the duty of elected leaders to avoid fostering an environment in which honestly-held policy disagreements serve as the basis for vitriol — raising the temperature in political rhetoric and creating a permission structure for unacceptable behavior," Sinema said in a statement.
Biden on Monday appeared to downplay the harassment of Sinema by saying the stunning videotaped bathroom confrontation was "part of the process" and "happens to everybody."
Manchin last week was confronted by activists in kayaks who paddled up to his houseboat in Washington, D.C.
Ducey, who will leave office on Jan. 1, 2023, due to term limits, has been encouraged to run for the Senate by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans. The governor told the Examiner he had no plans to run for the Senate.
Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Republican Kari Lake, who is running to succeed Ducey.
"[F]ew can take on the Fake News Media like Kari," Trump said in a statement released by his Save America PAC, noting Lake's long career as a TV news anchor.
"She is strong on Crime, will protect our Border, Second Amendment, Military, and Vets, and will fight to restore Election Integrity (both past and future!)," Trump said. "She is against Covid lockdowns, Cancel Culture, and will end 'woke' curriculum in our schools."
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