Sinema has been described as a
moderate and a
centrist, being generally socially liberal but fiscally moderate-to-conservative. She has cited U.S. Senator
Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, as a role model. The
National Journals 2013 vote ratings placed Sinema near the center of their
liberal–
conservative scale. In 2015, she voted with the majority of her party 73% of the time. In 2015 and 2016, Sinema did not vote for
Nancy Pelosi for
speaker of the U.S. House. In 2016, the
National Journal gave her a composite ideology score of 57% liberal and 43% conservative. She was one of the
most conservative House Democrats during her House tenure. According to
GovTrack, Sinema has a
centrist to
center-right voting record in the Senate, to the right of Republican Senators
Susan Collins and
Lisa Murkowski. According to
FiveThirtyEight, as of January 2021, Sinema had voted in line with Donald Trump's position on legislation about 50% of the time. As a result, the Arizona Democratic Party suggested censuring her. But after delaying the vote and watering down the resolution from a censure to an advisement, the Party ultimately
tabled the resolution. According to
FiveThirtyEight, as of July 2022, Sinema had voted with President Biden's position on legislative issues 94% of the time. In December 2022, Sinema changed her party registration to
independent. In 2020, she had a 100% rating from the abortion-rights organization
Planned Parenthood, and a 0% rating from the
anti-abortion organization Campaign for Working Families. That vote also cost her the support of the abortion-rights advocacy group
NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Capital punishment While working as a spokesperson for the
Arizona Green Party, Sinema worked to repeal the
death penalty. According to
The Arizona Republic, while serving in the Arizona State Legislature, she introduced more bills regarding the death penalty than bills regarding military or veterans' families. In 2007, she introduced HB 2278, which would require the
Arizona Supreme Court to "strike" any prior death sentence and "enter in its place a sentence of natural life", as in
life without parole. Sinema has served as an Advisory Board Member of the
Arizona Death Penalty Forum. She was also a presenter at their 2010 Spring Conference, which was co-sponsored by
Amnesty International and the
ACLU of Arizona. In 2017, Sinema and 47 other House Democrats voted with the majority of House Republicans on H.R. 115,
Thin Blue Line Act of 2017, which was opposed by the
ACLU. The bill would "expand the list of statutory aggravating factors in death penalty determinations" to include the killing or targeting of a
law enforcement officer,
first responder, or
firefighter.
Defense On February 5, 2019, Sinema voted for a bill that would make improvements to certain defense and security assistance provisions, authorize the appropriation of funds to Israel, and reauthorize the United States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of 2015. On March 13, 2019, she voted to remove the
United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress.
Economics and taxes Sinema has voted for federal stimulus spending. She has said, "raising taxes is more economically sound than cutting vital social services." In 2015, Sinema was one of just seven House Democrats to vote in favor of a Republican-backed bill to repeal the
estate tax, which affects about 0.2% of Americans in the U.S. each year (estates of $5.43 million or more for individuals, or $10.86 million or more for couples). That same year, she voted to change the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's leadership from a single director to a bipartisan commission. In 2016, with Republican representative
John Katko of New York, Sinema cosponsored the Working Parents Flexibility Act (H.R. 4699). This legislation would establish a tax-free "parental savings account" in which employers and parents could invest savings tax-free, with unused funds eligible to be "rolled into qualifying retirement, college savings or ABLE accounts for people with disabilities without tax penalties". In September 2018, she voted "to make
individual tax cuts passed by the GOP [in 2017] permanent". She was one of three Democrats to break with her party and vote for the tax cuts being made permanent. On July 30, 2019, Sinema and Senator
Bill Cassidy released a proposal under which new parents would be authorized to advance their child tax credit benefits in order to receive a $5,000 cash benefit upon either birth or adoption of a child. The parents' child tax credit would then be reduced by $500 for each year of the following decade. In 2022, several provisions of the
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 were changed after negotiations with Sinema: a provision narrowing the
carried interest loophole was dropped, a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks was added, and manufacturing exceptions were added to the corporate minimum tax. Sinema had also previously threatened legislation in the
Build Back Better plan if it did not preserve the carried interest loophole.
Labor issues On February 12, 2021, Sinema became the second Democratic senator after
Joe Manchin to announce her opposition to including a $15/hour minimum wage as part of a
COVID-19 relief bill. On March 5, 2021, Sinema voted against an increase of the
federal minimum wage to
$15 an hour, proposed by Senator
Bernie Sanders as part of the
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. She did so by flashing a thumbs-down, and some commentators compared her demeanor to that of former Arizona senator
John McCain, who had voted with a dramatic thumbs-down gesture in 2017; others compared her to former French queen
Marie Antoinette, to whom the phrase "
let them eat cake" is attributed. Sinema's office responded that any commentary on her clothes and demeanor was sexist. Her vote was at odds with that of fellow Democrat
Mark Kelly, the
junior Arizona senator, who supports a $15/hour minimum wage. In December 2024, Sinema and
Joe Manchin joined Republican senators in voting to block
Lauren McFerran's renomination to the
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), effectively blocking Democratic control of the NLRB until at least 2026 and allowing Republican control starting under
President-elect Trump.
Education In February 2019, Sinema was one of 20 senators to sponsor the Employer Participation in Repayment Act, enabling employers to contribute up to $5,250 to their employees' student loans.
Environment In 2019, Sinema was one of four Democratic-caucusing senators to join all Republicans in voting against the
Green New Deal, a
stimulus program that aims to address
climate change and economic inequality, while most other Democrats voted "
present". In April 2019, Sinema was one of three Democrats who voted with Republicans to confirm
David Bernhardt, a former oil executive, as Secretary of the Interior. On February 12, 2019, Sinema voted along with the whole Senate for the Natural Resources Management Act, which provides for the management of the natural resources of the United States. In 2022, Sinema voted for the
Inflation Reduction Act, a major piece of climate and energy legislation designed to invest in renewable energy, which includes billions of dollars for drought relief.
Foreign policy Sinema supports the use of military force to stop
genocide, such as in
Sudan,
Somalia and
Rwanda. Sinema was opposed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and helped organize anti-war protests while a law student at Arizona State University. Sinema was involved in organizing a Phoenix-area group called the Arizona Alliance for Peaceful Justice (AAPJ). According to Josh Lederman of
The Hill, "The group's mission statement at the time called military action 'an inappropriate response to terrorism' and advocated for using the legal system—not violence—to bring
Osama bin Laden and others to justice." In 2005 and 2006, she co-hosted an
Air America radio show with
9/11 truther Jeff Farias. After joining Congress in 2012, she said her views on military force had "evolved", and that "you should never take military intervention off the table. When you do so, you give an out to a rogue nation or rogue actors." In 2014 and 2018 the
NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF), which opposes gun regulations, gave Sinema a "D" grade.
Health care Sinema voted against repealing the
Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), but has called for reforms to the law. In a 2012 congressional campaign debate, she said the health care law was not perfect, and that in Congress she would work to amend it to make it work effectively. Sinema voted to delay the imposition of fines on those who did not purchase insurance in 2014. She also voted to repeal the Medical Device Tax and for the Keep Your Health Plan Act of 2013. Speaking about healthcare policy, Sinema said, "I used to say that I wanted universal health-care coverage in Arizona, which went over like a ton of bricks. Turns out, Arizonans hear the word 'universal' and think 'socialism'—or 'pinko commie'. But when I say that I want all Arizonans to have access to affordable, quality health care, Arizonans agree wholeheartedly. Same basic idea, different language."
LGBT rights According to a profile in
The Advocate, "Sinema has her sights set on advancing
LGBT rights." She has a history of policy advocacy regarding LGBT rights and issues. In 2006, Sinema was among the leading opponents of a proposed amendment to the Arizona state constitution which would have banned
same-sex marriages and
civil unions. The proposal failed in Arizona, the first time that a state rejected a ban on same-sex marriage, but a second proposed amendment banning only same-sex marriage passed in 2008 with Sinema in opposition again. She supports same-sex marriage,
domestic partnership recognition, and adding
gender identity to anti-discrimination laws. In 2013, Sinema co-sponsored Rep.
Sean Patrick Maloney's letter, which opposed
Saudi Arabia for "the use of
torture and capital punishment against the LGBTQ community". In December 2022, Sinema was a lead cosponsor and negotiator on the
Respect for Marriage Act, which passed the Senate with a vote of 61–36.
Immigration on the day of the SB 1070's signing|alt=A woman in her thirties with fairly short blond hair, wearing sunglasses and a beige and pink top, is surrounded by a crowd. Sinema co-sponsored the Southwest Border Security Threat Assessment Act (H.R. 4482), a bill that calls for border threat analysis of terrorism, smuggling, and human trafficking every five years. Sinema was one of 24 House Democrats to vote in favor of
Kate's Law, a bill that would expand maximum sentences for foreigners who attempt to reenter the country, legally or illegally, after having been deported, denied entry or removed, and for foreign felons who attempt to reenter the country. Sinema voted for the
SAFE Act, which expanded the
refugee screening process to require signatures from the
secretary of homeland security, the
director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the
director of national intelligence for each refugee entering the country. Sinema opposed
Arizona SB 1070. She has argued that mass deportation of undocumented immigrants is not an option and supported the
DREAM Act. Her 2012 campaign website stated that "we need to create a tough but fair path to citizenship for undocumented workers that requires them to get right with the law by paying back taxes, paying a fine and learning English as a condition of gaining citizenship." In July 2018, she broke with her party by voting with Republicans against abolishing
ICE. The
Federation for American Immigration Reform, a PAC that seeks to limit both legal and illegal immigration, gave Sinema a 33% rating in 2018, and
UnidosUS, which supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, gave Sinema a score of 88% in 2014. On February 4, 2021, Sinema voted against providing COVID-19 pandemic financial support to undocumented immigrants.
Privacy In June 2013, Sinema became one of 29 original cosponsors of the bipartisan LIBERT-E (Limiting Internet and Blanket Electronic Review of Telecommunications and Email) Act, along with Representative
Justin Amash. The legislation would limit the
National Security Agency (NSA) to only collecting electronic information from subjects of an investigation. In July 2013, Sinema joined a bipartisan majority and voted against an amendment to a defense appropriations bill (offered by Amash) to prohibit the NSA from monitoring and recording details of U.S. citizens' telecommunications without a warrant.
Senate filibuster Early in her career, Sinema expressed enthusiasm about evading the
Senate filibuster through the
reconciliation process. On January 25, 2021, a spokesperson for Sinema told
The Washington Post that she is "against eliminating the filibuster" and "not open to changing her mind" on the issue. Additionally, Sinema has spoken out on the elimination of the judicial filibuster as a key reason for increased politicization of the
judiciary. In January 2022, Sinema and Democratic Senate colleague Joe Manchin voted against changing the Senate filibuster rule. The proposed rule change, which would have allowed certain voting rights bills to advance to the Senate floor without meeting the Senate's 60-vote threshold, was voted down by a 52–48 margin. Days later, the Arizona Democratic Party executive committee censured Sinema for voting to retain the filibuster rule.
Telecommunications In 2016, Sinema was one of five House Democrats to vote for a Republican-backed bill barring the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from regulating broadband rates. Her vote broke from her party; other Democrats were strongly opposed to the measure, and President Obama said he would veto it if it passed. In 2019, Sinema was the sole Senate Democrat not to co-sponsor the Save the Internet Act, which would restore Obama-era regulations preventing
ISPs from throttling consumers' website traffic. She worked with Senate Republican
Roger Wicker to develop their own
net neutrality bill. ==Personal life==