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- Rep. Ruben Gallego says Kyrsten Sinema is responsible for the Silicon Valley Bank implosion.
- Gallego talked about campaign contributions Sinema got from the failed lender on Tuesday in Tempe.
- "Sinema is in the pocket of Wall Street," he said, citing her 2018 vote to slash banking rules.
Senate hopeful Rep. Ruben Gallego accused his 2024 rival, Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, of contributing to Silicon Valley Bank's demise by catering to lobbyists' demands in 2018.
"The SVB collapse is a direct result of Kyrsten Sinema's choice to side with big banks over everyday Arizonans," Gallego, who two months ago announced that he was running to unseat the now-Independent senator, wrote online as part of a press event he held outside the SVB office in Tempe, Arizona.
During this latest barrage, Gallego cited lobbying reports showing that Sinema, who was serving in the House of Representatives in early 2018, collected thousands from a trio of SVB lobbyists — and upwards of $100,000 from the banking industry in general — just as the Trump administration and the business community were pressuring Congress to loosen restrictions put into place by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.
Over a dozen Senate Democrats and nearly three dozen House Democrats, including Sinema, ultimately went along with the GOP-led plan.
—Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) March 14, 2023
"Sinema is in the pocket of Wall Street, and her vote put hardworking Arizona, their families, and their small business, at risk of another 2008-like meltdown," Gallego charged Tuesday on social media.
Sinema press secretary Pablo Sierra-Carmona declined to comment on Gallego's latest allegations, telling Insider that his boss "is not engaging in campaign politics." He added that Sinema is continuing to monitor the SVB situation and looks forward to thorough oversight of what went wrong.
Gallego also went after Sinema a day earlier. "When bank lobbyists asked me to weaken bank regulations, I said no. When they asked Senator Sinema, she asked how much — and voted yes," he said, as the The Hill reported. "Now we are all going to pay for her mistake."
On Sunday, Sinema praised Biden administration officials for stepping in to help calm financial markets.
—Kyrsten Sinema (@SenatorSinema) March 13, 2023
"The federal government must now ensure those responsible are held accountable, while maintaining stability for all Americans who rely on our banking system," Sinema posted online.