Dems in disarray over retiring Sens. Manchin, Sinema bucking party-line votes

Several Democratic senators have expressed disapproval as retiring Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona cast their final votes.

Manchin and Sinema, who were previously registered as Democrats before changing their affiliation to independent, have made a habit of breaking from their former party's voting patterns.

Most recently, Sinema and Manchin voted to block President Joe Biden's nominee, Lauren McFerran, from serving another term on the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday, handing Senate Republicans another incremental victory. In response, several Democrats called the pair's votes "pathetic" and "disappointing."

This is not the first time Manchin and Sinema have butted heads with the Democratic Party.

"There's a tradition of having a balance on that board, and it's important, so it's disappointing they weren't able to get that done," Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota said.

"Millions of working people across the country will pay the price for their actions," Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said.

Like Sinema and Manchin, independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont stepped away from the Democratic Party and changed his affiliation. Sanders' disapproval of the pair's "no" votes was kept short and sweet.

"Pathetic," Sanders said.

This is not the first time Sinema and Manchin have butted heads with the Democratic Party.

Although she voted with Biden most of the time, Sinema sided with the president less than her Democratic colleagues have. For example, Sinema eventually supported the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 after months of haggling and hesitating to support what has become one of Biden's most consequential pieces of legislation.

Manchin has also clashed with his former party, boasting the most conservative voting record of any Democrat or independent in the Senate this term. Manchin notably bucked Biden's Build Back Better legislation in 2021 and has consistently thwarted filibuster reform Democrats have put forward.

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