United States Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) cracked jokes about President Joe Biden and lavished praise onto House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) and Congressman Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) while attending a private fundraiser sometime after Biden was elected, according to an upcoming book.
Excerpts from This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future – authored by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns – reveal that Sinema touted herself as "anti-government" and "anti-tax" at the event, which was attended by rich Republican donors, Axios reported on Wednesday.
The date and location of the fundraiser was not specified.
Sinema "mocked Biden while speaking warmly" about McCarthy and Biggs, a right-wing extremist who objected to Biden's victory in the 2020 election, the book states.
"I love Andy Biggs," Sinema said. "I know some people think he's crazy, but that's just because they don't know him."
Business Insider noted that "Sinema and Biggs have been friends since their days serving together in the Arizona state legislature, and have long found common ground across the aisle."
Burns and Martin chronicle in This Will Not Pass that Sinema told Biden not to come to Arizona to promote the American Rescue Plan, which Biden signed into law early in his presidency to jumpstart the pandemic-battered economy.
Sinema, they added, also clashed directly with Biden over masks.
Sinema "became the first-ever lawmaker to argue with White House aides when they asked her to wear a face mask in the company of the president, repeatedly asking why that was necessary when she had been vaccinated," the book says.
Sinema, a moderate freshman lawmaker, has hindered the Senate's ability to enact Biden's progressive agenda through objections to amending the filibuster. Her resistance has prevented the passage of legislation to protect voting rights and tackle climate change.
"Separately," Axios continued in its synopsis, "Sinema told colleagues five or six other Senate Dem moderates were 'hiding behind my skirt' as she pushed back on the left."
This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future is scheduled for publication on May 3rd.
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