5 veterans on an advisory board to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema quit in protest, calling her 'one of the principal obstacles to progress'
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Grace Panetta
Oct 21, 2021, 21:13 IST
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., speaks during the Senate Finance Committee as Chris Magnus testifies on his nomination to be the next U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington
Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP
Five members of a veterans' advisory council to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema have resigned in protest.
They cited Sinema's opposition to some of Biden's agenda and her support for the filibuster.
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Five members of a veterans' advisory council to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema have resigned in protest over her holding up President Joe Biden's massive social spending package and some of her other positions, The New York Times reported.
In a scathing letter to the senator obtained by The Times and highlighted in an ad from the political arm of progressive veterans' group Common Defense, the members of the group, who informally advise Sinema on military and veterans' issues in Arizona, charged her with "hanging your constituents out to dry."
In a portion of the letter featured in the ad, the resigning members say they "feel they are being used as window dressing" for Sinema's "own image," not to provide guidance.
"You have become one of the principal obstacles to progress, answering to big donors rather than your own people," the veteran advisors said in the letter. "We shouldn't have to buy representation from you, and your failure to stand by your people and see their urgent needs is alarming."
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The public resignation of about a quarter of Sinema's veterans' advisory board adds to the backlash Sinema is facing in D.C. and at home for her opposition to major components of Democrats' spending package
Some top Democrats in Washington have expressed frustration over Sinema's role in holding up the process as Congress barrels towards the end of the year.
"While it is unfortunate that apparent disagreement on separate policy issues has led to this decision," Sinema said in a statement to The Times about the resigning veterans. "I thank them for their service and will continue working every day to deliver for Arizona's veterans who have sacrificed so much to keep us safe and secure."
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