WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Arizona, made a call for bipartisan unity during her farewell address on the U.S. Senate floor Wednesday morning.
Sinema capped off her six-year stint in the Senate with a hopeful tone in a speech that ended with a reference to Abraham Lincoln's famous "We are not enemies but friends" address.
The one-term senator name-dropped several of the Republican and Democratic senators she's worked with to pass legislation and warned of the dangers that come when one party has too much power.
Sinema said she's heard rumors that the next class of elected officials may try to circumvent the filibuster rule, which Sinema said would result in a "devolution" of the legislative process.
"You don't have to burn down the rules and the norms to achieve what you want," Sinema said.
Sinema was censured by the Arizona Democratic Party in 2022 after she refused to reform the filibuster rule in order to pass Democratic-backed legislation without the support of Republicans. The filibuster tool essentially requires pieces of legislation to obtain 60 votes in the Senate instead of a simple 51-49 majority.
Arizona's first elected female senator declined to seek re-election this year after leaving the Democratic Party and her seat will be occupied by Ruben Gallego in the new year.
"The beauty of America is in the push and the pull," Sinema said on Wednesday, "our democracy ensures that no one person, no one party has too much control."