Senate Democrats slam Sinema, Manchin for their recent votes against Biden nominee

Senate Democrats are slamming Democrat-turned-Independent Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for their respective votes earlier this week that effectively removed a Biden nominee from the National Labor Relations Board and took away their party's majority on the panel.

Board member Lauren McFerran’s tenure ended when Manchin, of West Virginia, and Sinema, of Arizona, sided with Senate Republicans in a procedural vote that denied McFerran a second five-year term on the five-member panel. 

Until her roll call vote Wednesday, Sinema, who is not seeking reelection, had not cast one since Nov. 21, according to the Arizona Republic newspaper.

Manchin also did not seek reelection and like Sinema will not be in office next year. Sinema's participation in Senate roll call votes dropped significantly after she announced in March she would not seek another term.

“I think people are not sorry to see them go,” a Democratic senator said in response to their votes, according to The Hill.

Some Democrats believed that Manchin and Sinema would miss the vote; both of them had missed previous votes that day, but they both came to the floor to tank McFerran's nomination.

Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who typically votes with Senate Democrats,, called their votes "pathetic."

\\