Gallego: Senate's 60-vote rule 'a tool of obstruction'

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said in an interview that the 60-vote threshold in the Senate is “a tool of obstruction” as he officially launches a bid to challenge Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s  (I-Ariz.) Senate seat in the state.

During an appearance on Monday on MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,” host Lawrence O'Donnell asked Gallego his thoughts on the 60-vote filibuster rule in the Senate, noting how Sinema has always voiced her support for the voting threshold. 

Sinema, who announced her move to leave the Democratic Party and officially register as an independent last month, has called the filibuster an “important guardrail for the institution” speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week. 

Sinema, along with moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), has been a prominent defender of the filibuster, a rule that requires most pieces of legislation to garner at least 60 votes to pass. 

“But my position is that filibuster has to get reformed. It's not a tool of compromise, it's a tool of obstruction,” Gallego told O’Donnell, mentioning notable bills that have died in the Senate due to the filibuster, including the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. 

“​​We pass bills out of the House that die in the Senate,” Gallego added. “At the end of the day, this is actually really used to stop real moral movement and actual laws actually help people in this country.”

Gallego also called out Sinema for her role in killing the Voting Rights Act in the Senate, noting how her stance on the threshold has led to being out of touch with Arizona voters. 

“And the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, some of them she claims was her mentor and her best friend. So, she's lost absolute trust with everybody in Arizona,” Gallego told O’Donnell. “And I think in general, I think she's going to have problems winning any races because, you know, it's not about the filibuster. It's not about any particular bills.”

“The fact that she just doesn't communicate and doesn't really connect anymore with the people of Arizona,” Gallego added. 

Gallego’s remarks come as he officially announced his plans to challenge Sinema for her Senate seat in 2024. 

Gallego also mentioned that Arizonans don’t trust Sinema due to her lack of dialogue with constituents, saying that “they don't know what her motivation is anymore” as senator. 

“They don't trust her anymore because she doesn't talk to the voters of Arizona. ... If you want to meet with her, you had to put a fundraiser together and it better be a high-dollar fundraiser,” Gallego said. “That's not what this conference is about. That's not what representative government is about. And certainly, that's not what being a senator is about.”