{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=A13EE0B3-1A39-4AB0-92F9-A9DFAC95731F", "McConnell Remarks On Retiring Senator Kyrsten Sinema", "2024-12-18", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "\u201cArizona\u2019s senior Senator stood up in the face of a grave threat to this institution\u2019s defining characteristic and said \u2018no\u2019. And in doing so, she sent a message that will resonate long after her departure from the chamber.\u201d\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ):\n\n\u201cI\u2019d like to close with just a few words about another of our departing colleagues, the senior Senator from Arizona.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s perhaps unconventional for the leader of one party to pay formal tribute to a departing Senator who\u2019s caucused with the other side.\n\n\u201cBut then, Kyrsten Sinema has never had trouble with bucking a trend.\n\n\u201cFor one thing, she\u2019s spent her six years in this body earning levels of influence, respect, and command of policy that are uncommon among Senate freshmen.\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s thrown herself into worthwhile projects, done the heavy lifting of legislation, and kept at it when longer-tenured colleagues might have thrown in the towel.\n\n\u201cNeedless to say, Senator Sinema\u2019s maverick streak extends to her efforts to broaden the Senate\u2019s fashion horizons, too.\n\n\u201cBut the cornerstone of our colleague\u2019s legacy in this chamber will be her willingness to defend the Senate, itself, when saying nothing would have been a great deal easier.\n\n\u201cArizona\u2019s senior Senator stood up in the face of a grave threat to this institution\u2019s defining characteristic and said \u2018no\u2019. And in doing so, she sent a message that will resonate long after her departure from the chamber.\n\n\u201cI admire our colleague for the courage, wisdom, and clarity that have guided her service to the people of Arizona and to the entire nation.\n\n\u201cAnd I wish her the very best in her next chapter.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=A13EE0B3-1A39-4AB0-92F9-A9DFAC95731F"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1156510338187218, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}