Senate Democrats are walking on eggshells around Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), hoping she will agree to support a sweeping tax reform and climate bill that Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) hashed out this week.
Sinema was left out of the latest negotiations between Manchin and Schumer, though she played a large role in crafting the prescription drug reform bill that will be included in a budget reconciliation package along with the tax and climate provisions.
The Arizona senator, who played a central role in crafting the bipartisan infrastructure bill that became law last year as well as the recently passed gun safety legislation, wouldn't answer questions as she left the Capitol Thursday.
Sinema has already openly supported setting a 15 percent corporate minimum tax for companies that earn more than $1 billion in profits, a centerpiece of the deal that would raise $313 billion over a decade.
But it's still unknown whether she’ll agree to close the carried interest tax loophole that allows asset managers to pay only a 20 percent capital gains tax rate on income earned from managing profitable investments. Closing it would raise an estimated $14 billion over 10 years.
Sinema last year opposed doing away with the carried interest tax loophole, and critics were quick to point out how much money in campaign contributions she accepts from people in the private equity industry.
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Background: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) reached their agreement on the proposal but kept it a closely guarded secret. The Hill's Alexander Bolton has the full story on the stealthy plot here.
