Name: COVID-19 aid package could matter more for Sinema and Kelly than Trump's impeachment trial
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COVID-19 aid package could matter more for Sinema and Kelly than Trump's impeachment trial

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Arizona RepublicView CommentsSens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly are not&nbsp;saying&nbsp;where they stand on former President Donald Trump's impeachment&nbsp;trial, but both have&nbsp; the angry horde of rioters who overtook the U.S. Capitol in a deadly rampage that left five people dead.But for Sinema and Kelly,&nbsp;both&nbsp;Democrats from swing-state Arizona who&nbsp;are viewed as among the Senate's most vulnerable members, Trump's trial could seem more like an afterthought to tougher and&nbsp;more consequential&nbsp;votes that lie ahead on President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package.Trump's Senate trial is set to start at 11 a.m. Arizona time Tuesday. As jurors, Sinema and Kelly will vote on whether Trump is guilty or not guilty on an article of impeachment that says Trump incited the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. If Trump is found guilty, he would be blocked from ever seeking office again,&nbsp;but a conviction would require a two-thirds Senate vote and Trump appears to continue to enjoy the support of enough Senate Republicans to avoid it.Looming larger for Sinema and Kelly is the&nbsp;latest coronavirus relief legislation making its way through Congress. It could carry a hefty $1.9 trillion price tag and test whether Democrats can manage the pandemic any better than Trump did. And it is a potential political minefield for Sinema and Kelly, who won their seats campaigning on a centrist message and tend to proceed with caution with regard to divisive partisan questions.Republicans hope to force Sinema and Kelly to take controversial votes that could be used against them in Arizona when they run for re-election.&nbsp;Sinema and Kelly have already had to vote on several GOP efforts intended to exert political pain, including one to ban raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour during the pandemic and another that sought to ensure undocumented immigrants do not receive direct cash stimulus payments.Sinema and Kelly&nbsp;supported both during last week's overnight&nbsp;"vote-a-rama,"&nbsp;angering some on the political left.And on Monday, Sinema signaled that she does not support including a federal minimum wage increase in the COVID-19 relief legislation."The tough balance that senators will have to strike is their duty in discharging the article of impeachment and their commitment to rule of law and their commitment to accountability of elected lawmakers or for actions while in office and that it is an important part of their work," said Kevin Madden, a registered&nbsp;independent who was a spokesman for Republican Mitt Romney's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns."But so much of that&nbsp;has to be explained to the public against the backdrop of very pressing issues related to the economy, to the pandemic response, and the priorities of the Biden administration and ultimately the priorities of the American people."Sinema&nbsp;already has voted to convict&nbsp;Trump before&nbsp;— last year, on the impeachment charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. She&nbsp;told The Arizona Republic after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack that Trump’s speech ahead of the riot contributed to the violence."I do think that it is appropriate to say what is bad behavior, and what is dangerous behavior," Sinema said at the time.&nbsp;"... This was a violent insurrection incited by Donald Trump, and that is a fact. If you listen to the president's speech, that is what it is. We should be honest about it, but we should also provide opportunities now more than ever for people to stop engaging in behavior that is inciteful or that supports this kind of very dangerous, sedition-type behavior and instead bring people back to this concept of patriotism to our country, which means honoring our Constitution."Kelly, who joined the Senate in December after winning a special election and faces re-election in 2022, also has blamed Trump's rhetoric for "inciting" the violence.He has said former Vice President Mike Pence and Trump's Cabinet had a duty to seriously consider determining whether Trump was unfit for office through the 25th amendment.Trump's defense team is arguing that the trial is unconstitutional because he is no longer in office, although scholars disagree. The former president's team has&nbsp;said Trump's speech ahead of the rioting was protected by the First Amendment.The new phase of the impeachment proceedings will unfold against the backdrop of a debate Sinema and Kelly may view as having a more urgent and lasting impact for their constituents: passage of Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19&nbsp;package.Sinema and Kelly have been working with a bipartisan group of senators&nbsp;in conjunction with the White House to advance Biden's package. Separately, they are advocating for an emergency, immediate 300,000 extra vaccine doses from the federal government for the state, as well as an increase of the state's weekly 300,000 doses. Their request comes after state leaders' requests were denied. Members of Arizona's House delegation have made the same request.The pending relief package, which could&nbsp;jump-start&nbsp;the economy in a new direction, get millions of people vaccinated more quickly, and cover the costs of rent and groceries for struggling families, is where the Arizona senators have invested most of their energy throughout the past several months.&nbsp;For the American people, whose lives have been affected one way or another by the deadly pandemic, the stimulus package "is the more important item, at least in terms of how the public evaluates what Congress is doing," said Larry Sabato, the political scientist who directs the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.The results of the impeachment trial already appear to be a "done deal for everybody," he said."We more or less know the exact vote or minus one or two so it's anticlimactic," Sabato said. "And that's the difference between the impeachment trial and so many other things pending before Congress."Perhaps more than their votes on impeachment, the budget reconciliation process has presented attempts by Republicans and Democrats alike to draw out the contours of just how partisan each of Arizona's centrist-positioned senators are.Over a flurry of amendments by Republicans through the&nbsp;marathon session in the Senate last week, Senate Democrats passed a budget resolution that began the process that would allow both Democrat-controlled chambers to pass the stimulus package without Republican support. After the "vote-a-rama," Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris cast her first tie-breaking votes as president of the Senate in the 50-50 Senate. Republicans forced Democrats to take non-binding positions on issues ranging from raising the minimum wage during the pandemic to agreeing to restrict stimulus money from going to undocumented immigrants, which was not part of Biden's plan. The vote will not impact eligibility for mixed-status families.The votes&nbsp;could help Republicans sharpen a political contrast with the two senators, and could dog Kelly into his re-election bid, where Republicans are sure to cast his votes through a hyper-partisan lens&nbsp;as he tries to maintain appeal to a coalition of Republicans, Democrats and independent voters. They could also ratchet up criticism of Sinema from the more liberal activist wing of Arizona's Democratic Party already angered by her .Jim Manley, a former aide to former Senate Majority Leader&nbsp;Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said the votes gave a glimpse into how Kelly operates, but likely won't have any lasting consequences."The budget votes are just an indication of the kind of stuff he's going to have to face for the next two years," said Manley, a 21-year veteran of the Senate. "... But no one's ever lost an election over these kind of meaningless votes. It's probably going to lead to 15-second digital attack ads, but that's about it."Jacob Peters,&nbsp;a spokesman for Kelly, indicated the senator viewed some of the GOP amendments as a detraction."Senator Kelly remains focused on getting much needed support to Arizonans so that we can get vaccinations into communities, beat this virus, and rebuild our economy," he said in a statement. "These amendments were an attempt to obstruct and distract from getting COVID-19 relief to Arizonans.”Hannah Hurley said Sinema is pressing for a package that addresses immediate public-health and economic needs, including aid for local restaurants. The amendment that sought to make sure undocumented immigrants do not receive stimulus funding, sponsored by Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., did not&nbsp;change&nbsp;policy, the Kelly and Sinema spokespeople said."On this amendment, Kyrsten voted to uphold what is currently law, which does not allow individuals without work-eligible social security numbers to receive stimulus payments," Hurley said. "Kyrsten has voted to support, and this amendment does not deny, aid to mixed status families."On Monday, Sinema weighed in for the first time about efforts to increase the federal minimum wage through the reconciliation process. Her comment came after Biden said his proposal to increase the federal minimum wage was unlikely to make it into the final stimulus package."Kyrsten is working to ensure a next relief bill is laser-focused on addressing Arizona's immediate needs and believes all proposals not related to those immediate needs — like the minimum wage increase — must be excluded from the package," Hurley said in a statement to The Arizona Republic.Kelly, who said he supported raising the minimum wage during his 2020 campaign, has not explicitly said how he would like that increase to occur.&nbsp; he will examine the details of any proposal."In different communities, the economies are different," Kelly told Politico. "I'll have to look at the details of what comes to the floor on the minimum wage."Have news to share about Arizona's U.S. senators or national politics?&nbsp;Reach the reporter on and . Contact her at and 602-444-4712.Support local journalism.&nbsp;.Subscribe for free to The Gaggle&nbsp;political podcast on , , or wherever you listen to audio content.View Comments

Arizona RepublicView CommentsSens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly are not&nbsp;saying&nbsp;where they stand on former President Donald Trump's impeachment&nbsp;trial, but both have&nbsp; the angry horde of rioters who overtook the U.S. Capitol in a deadly rampage that left five people dead.But for Sinema and Kelly,&nbsp;both&nbsp;Democrats from swing-state Arizona who&nbsp;are viewed as among the Senate's most vulnerable members, Trump's trial could seem more like an afterthought to tougher and&nbsp;more consequential&nbsp;votes that lie ahead on President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19...

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Yvonne Wingett Sanchez

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COVID-19 aid package could matter more for Sinema and Kelly than Trump's impeachment trial

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