Departure of Moderate Senators Could Lead to More Gridlock in Polarized Senate

Senators Mitt Romney, Kyrsten Sinema, and Joe Manchin are set to leave the Senate in 2023, potentially leading to more gridlock as less partisan lawmakers depart. According to Republican strategist Ron Bonjean, this will result in a “hostile atmosphere” with “more polarized and polarizing figures.” Political science professor Daniel Wirls noted that while these moderate senators did not necessarily remedy or reduce stalemates, they allowed for some bipartisan legislation. Romney lamented the loss of such collaboration, stating that it is over and will no longer happen in its current form. Bonjean predicted that their successors would be “more partisan and party-line voices” who are less interested in finding ways to legislate across parties. However, political science professor Grant Reeher suggested that Arizona, West Virginia, and Utah have produced more moderate representatives historically, so similar senators may follow them. With the potential for fewer lawmakers willing to diverge from their party’s positions entering Congress, it seems unlikely either Democrats or Republicans will be able to advance major legislation without significant challenge as there appears to be little likelihood that either party will get 60 seats in the Senate and thus bypass a filibuster through bipartisan support. Manchin and Sinema have previously opposed efforts to eliminate the procedural device known as the filibuster, making it harder for bills to pass without reaching the necessary threshold of votes on cloture measures. If given control over all three branches of government, Democrats may attempt once again to reform or even abolish the Senate’s legislative veto option – an opportunity which Reeher acknowledges as “hardly a given.” Representatives for Sinema and Manchin did not provide comment on these potential future outcomes by press time.