Kyrsten Sinema privately blocked a Biden nominee crucial to enacting his agenda
Kyrsten Sinema is one of a kind. Her popular colleague from Arizona, Sen. Mark Kelly, despite facing a raft of negative ads from Republicans, still maintains a 54% approval rating in the state, while Sinema’s schtick has dragged her down to 42. To have that large a gap in the same state between two senators technically from the same party is extremely rare.
But Sinema works overtime to burnish that poor reputation. I have a new story up about the latest wrench she’s thrown into the Democratic machinery, this time privately blocking the Biden administration from nominating an official to run what is arguably the most important agency over the next two years, known as the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. OIRA was created to streamline the process of turning laws into actual rules and regulations, a slog that can take years without anybody driving the train.
Politico, in a story dinging the White House for taking too long to name somebody, reported last week that the leading candidate, Ganesh Sitaraman, ran into trouble amid concern “he couldn’t win support from the moderate Democratic lawmakers needed to secure confirmation.”
That’s not exactly true, according to sources I spoke with.
In fact, there was only one such “moderate,” and her name was Kyrsten Sinema. Sinema stalled the nomination in early spring, pretending for months she just needed to do her due diligence. She drove a final stake into him at the end of spring. With her vote needed for the big climate, tax and health care package still being cooked up, there was little other senators or the White House could do but throw up their hands.
Sitaraman is known in Washington as a former aide to Elizabeth Warren, but he’s far from a firebreather, and even clerked for Reagan appointed Judge Stephen Williamson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which regularly reviews federal regulations.
He currently serves as a law professor and the director of the Program in Law and Government at Vanderbilt University, and has also taught at Harvard and Yale. One of
his books, The Great Democracy, was named one of ProMarket’s Best Political Economy Books of 2019. Another book, The Public Option, was picked by Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff as one of Project Syndicate’s “Best Reads of 2019.” These are not exactly the credentials of a committed anticapitalist revolutionary, though it was still too much for Sinema.
Biden, of course, could continue having an acting director run the office; name Sitaraman acting director; and/or wait to see if the Democrats pick up seats in the fall. It seems as though the White House is leaning toward a different pick, however. Full story is here.
Reminder that Sinema is up for re-election in 2024 and Rep. Ruben Gallego is very likely to challenge her.
Also, strangely, Alan Dershowitz agreed to come on our show Friday, and we spent about 25 minutes grilling him on his links to Jeffrey Epstein and his role in the cancellation of Norm Finkelstein, which runs contrary to his newly professed crusade against cancel culture.