Bernie Sanders won’t miss Sen. Kyrsten Sinema “at all” when she departs Congress, the independent Vermont senator said Tuesday night on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”
Sinema announced on Monday that she will not be seeking reelection this year, after leaving the Democratic Party in 2022 and declaring herself an independent.
“Obviously a lot of people are going to miss her,” Colbert said. “How much are you going to miss her?”
“Not at all,” Sanders replied bluntly.
“As a Democrat. Tell us why,” Colbert pressed.
“In the midst of COVID three years ago, working with the President, we passed the American Rescue Plan which went a long way to take us out of the terrible economic downspin we were in and help us address the pandemic,” Sanders said. “What we understood is that bill, which was really consequential, was an emergency bill.”
Sanders added that they wanted to “deal with the structural crises facing America,” including housing, childcare, and healthcare.
“We can do better for working people,” the Senator continued, referencing how the Build Back Better Bill was created.
The bill itself had no Republican support, however, “We had 48 people in the Democratic caucus prepared to transform this country on behalf of the working class of America,” the Senator said.
Yet, Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin “refused to support us and we couldn’t pass it,” Sanders noted. “So I will not miss Senator Sinema.”
