After it was reported that Kyrsten Sinema’s pro-industry stunt in the Aviation Subcommittee came in return for $100,000 from airline executives and companies, the local fallout continues for everybody’s least favorite senator from Arizona. 12News, ABC15, and the Arizona Republic all called Sinema out for her apparent willingness to push a dangerous proposal in exchange for campaign cash – a proposal that her fellow senator said would result in Sinema having “blood on your hands.”
Even “Miracle on the Hudson” Captain Sully blasted Sinema for this stunt and for her ties to the airline industry. Sinema has received nearly $750,000 in contributions from the airline industry, including more than $54,000 in 2022 alone.
“It’s no surprise that Sinema is putting the interests of her corporate donors over the safety and interests of her constituents, given her long history of doing exactly this,” said Replace Sinema spokesperson Sacha Haworth. “Despite the reputation she’s trying to create for herself, Sinema is bought and sold by her donors. The ‘maverick’ is nothing more than a Swamp Creature.”
Watch the TV clips and read excerpts from the AZ Republic story below:
ABC15: Arizona senator defends amendment she says will make the skies safer
Arizona Republic: Airline execs gave big to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s campaign amid dust-up over FAA
Ron Hansen // July 26, 2023
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema was the beneficiary of a recent, unrivaled burst of financial support from airline executives among her Senate colleagues who also oversee the industry and whose terms are also ending next year.
[…] Historically, Sinema and her committee peers have received significant support from the airline industry, according to figures from OpenSecrets, which tracks money in politics, but it is Sinema, who isn’t even a declared candidate at the moment, who is quickest to receive campaign cash this year.
The support came as the Commerce Committee is helping shape the periodic reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, legislation that helps determine the rules guiding the airlines. It also arrived as Sinema has trailed in new fundraising against Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who is running for her seat and relying more on small-dollar donors.
The heads of Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian and United airlines all gave to Sinema in the most recent fundraising quarter. So did the chair of Southwest Airlines. Those airlines combine for 76% of the nation’s domestic market share, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
[…] OpenSecrets identfied Sinema as the No. 3 recipient of air transportation money in the 2018 cycle, with about $85,000. Cruz came in first with $156,000 that cycle.
[…]At a Monday event with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council in Phoenix, Sinema sidestepped the issue of financial support and high-profile, safety related criticism of her amendment from Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot who in 2009 safely landed a crippled US Airways jetliner in New York’s Hudson River.
###