Sen. Kyrsten Sinema praised by dark money group for fighting infrastructure bill: leaked email

The dark money group No Labels recently praised Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) for her efforts to block President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill; a pushback that goes against what her own political party is fighting for.

According to The Intercept, a leaked email from Margaret White details the group's continued optimism regarding lawmakers' ability to separate the bipartisan infrastructure bill from the reconciliation package which includes a large portion of Biden's political agenda. In fact, they are even optimistic that the bill could still be killed in its entirety.`

"It is now clear that the reconciliation package will be delinked in time from the infrastructure bill and will be less than $3.5 trillion (if it passes at all), in theory making support from House Republicans for the infrastructure bill more likely," the email reads.

White continued with praise of Sinema for her efforts to fight the passing of the bill on their behalf. However, she did note that her group had not accumulated enough votes to pass the piece of legislation on Monday. The delay is due to progressives who have made it clear that they will not support the effort until the reconciliation bill is in Biden's hands.

“The biggest warning sign is on the left, where the Progressive Caucus leadership continues to object to the delinkage and claims they have the votes to kill the infrastructure bill, leading them to suggest Speaker Pelosi should cancel the vote or risk embarrassment," White wrote. “In the post-Brexit, post-Trump, free-agent, populist era in which we live now, don't assume that Speaker Pelosi and President Biden can definitely deliver the votes on the left."

In the wake of their opposition to the bill, some Democratic lawmakers have pushed back against the dark money group. "This only reinforces that No Labels is not only No Values but now also No Clue," said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.).

Despite the ongoing bipartisan pushback, Biden and the majority of Democratic lawmakers agree the bill is a necessity. On Wednesday, September 22, multiple Democratic groups visited the White House to meet with the president. Pocan, who also attended the meetings, weighed in and urged Democrats to back the bill.

“The best way to help the American people is by passing the President's Build Back Better Agenda, which includes the Build Back Better Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure agreement," said Pocan.

He added, “The President agreed and reiterated his position that we need to pass both to move America forward. The debates we're having are not about progressives versus moderates, but it's a fight between the special interests who don't want to pay their fair share and making sure we build back better for the American people."