Democrats have a chance to pass the Equality Act but out Senator Kyrsten Sinema could screw it up.

Traditionally, Americans hate Congress. Yet approval of Congress is now at a 12-year high, a modest 35 percent, because Congress is actually doing something. Voters are encouraged by the passage of the $1.9 billion economic stimulus package. The legislative branch is actually legislating! But unless the Senate changes its bizarre filibuster rules, Congress won’t be doing anything else any time soon–including passing the Equality Act. The passage of the stimulus package relied on an obscure rule that allows the Senate to pass budgetary issues without the threat of a filibuster. But virtually no other legislation, including voting right protections or the Equality Act, qualifies for that exception. Under Senate rules, 60 senators need to vote to end debate on legislation and move it forward, a process called cloture. That doesn’t mean all 60 will vote for a bill. That just means that they will allow the entire Senate to vote for it. Republicans in particular have been using this tactic to ensure that legislation they don’t like never comes to the floor for a vote. The most progressive members have been pushing to end the filibuster altogether, but two Senators, Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), have said they oppose such a move. However, Manchin is now saying he’s open to making it “painful” to use the filibuster. Even more importantly, President Biden is signaling he’s fine with that approach. Instead of eliminating the filibuster outright, Manchin is proposing a return to the talking filibuster, where Senators have to hold the floor and talk nonstop. The President has suggested our democracy is not working if something is not done to end the 60 filibuster rule as it currently stands. The president’s position may also force Sinema to change her tune. Sinema clings to bipartisanship like a life raft in the ocean, ignoring the fact that the GOP keeps poking holes in it. She has declared that she won’t eliminate the filibuster, but perhaps reforming it would give her cover to tweak her position. Otherwise, the Equality Act and a lot of the Democratic agenda is doomed to failure. If Sinema refuses to go along with the change, she will have the odd distinction of being a sponsor of the Equality Act and the person who single handedly ensured its failure.