Kyrsten Sinema Becomes the Savior Democrats Weren't Expecting

Democrats might be able to avert a government shutdown on Friday thanks to some unexpected help from newly independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema.

On Thursday, Sinema introduced an amendment to the massive omnibus spending package that broke the bill's Title 42 logjam and provided political cover for centrist Democrats, who were facing pressure to back a Republican proposal that, if passed, would hurt President Joe Biden's agenda.

Enacted in the early months of the COVID pandemic, the Trump-era Title 42 policy expedites the deportation of asylum seekers. The Biden administration has sought to lift the order, but Republicans, responding to the unprecedented number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, have made multiple attempts to prevent Title 42 from expiring.

Senator Mike Lee has had put forward an amendment to the omnibus that would cut funding for the Department of Homeland Security unless Biden reinstates the policy. Democrats said if Lee's proposal passed the Senate, the spending bill would likely tank.

Because centrist Democrats were under pressure to respond to the situation at the border, they were also under pressure to vote for Lee's amendment. However, voting for the amendment would have threaten the passage of the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill.

"With all the bad news from the border, members were under pressure to vote for the Lee amendment," John Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College, told Newsweek. "The Sinema amendment was a Christmas present in the form of an escape hatch."

"The omnibus is expected to receive very little [if any] Republican support in the House, so total Democratic unity will be needed to pass it through the House," Frances Lee, a professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton University, told Newsweek. "But attaching Lee's amendment to the omnibus would have endangered its support among progressive Democrats."

By working with other moderates, like Senator Jon Tester, who co-sponsored Thursday's side-by-side amendment, Sinema's was able to offer Democrats an alternative. Her proposal increases funding for border funding and resources, extends the use of Title 42 and requires the Biden administration to develop a plan before suspending the policy.

"This technique—a so-called set of 'side-by-side' amendments—offers a classic solution for members cross-pressured on a difficult issue," Frances Lee explained. "The Sinema alternative allowed Democrats to signal that they want strong action on border security but also do not want to endanger the omnibus."

She said that Sinema's decision to assist the Democrats in this effort—even though she left the party this month to register as an independent—indicates that she is signaling her intent to be a "constructive party" for the Democrats.

"Even her harshest critics acknowledge that she is very smart," Pitney said. "She understood what was happening."

With Sinema's amendment, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was able to usher the omnibus package through the Senate on Thursday. The yearlong government spending bill is now on its way to the House for a vote before federal funding ends late Friday night.