Senate Democrats are furious with outgoing West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, both independents, for voting against President Joe Biden's renomination of Chair Lauren McFerran to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), The Hill reported Friday.
The erstwhile Democrats voted against another five-year term for McFerran, which would have solidified a Democrat majority on the five-member board for the first two years of President-elect Donald Trump's term.
Another run for McFerran would have given Democrats three members on the board with an open seat for Trump to fill in 2025. Instead, Trump is expected to make two appointments and swing the balance to Republicans, 3-2. McFerran's term is up next week.
Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders called Manchin and Sinema "pathetic," while Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., called their votes "disappointing," The Hill reported.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said, "Millions of working people across the country will pay the price for their actions."
Republicans and business groups disagree.
"A lapsing of Ms. McFerran's term will end a bad streak of NLRB decisions," The Wall Street Journal wrote in its Thursday editorial. "The board has overturned a ruling that shielded workers from harassment and made it possible to force workers into a union without a majority vote by secret ballot."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., thought he could ram through a vote on McFerran since Sinema had skipped every vote since Nov. 21 and Manchin was away from Capitol Hill on Wednesday, according to the report. But both hurried back to cast "no" votes.
"I think people are not sorry to see them go," one Democrat senator told The Hill.
Manchin told The Hill that Schumer knew from "day 1" how he would vote on McFerran.
"Nothing personal, she's a good person. I voted for her before that joint employer ruling came out," he said, referring to the NLRB's 2023 decision that attempted to expand the criteria for establishing a joint-employer relationship, a rule later blocked by a federal court.
Manchin, who switched his party registration to independent in May, later announced his retirement from the Senate. Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in 2022, opted against running for reelection. Manchin's West Virginia seat was won by Republican Jim Justice, while Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., won Sinema's seat.
"For me, it's really hard to understand except for kind of a parting shot," a Democrat lamented to The Hill.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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