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Arizona Sen. Kirsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a political independent, she told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an exclusive TV interview.
“I registered as an independent from Arizona. I know some people might be a little surprised by this, but actually, I think it makes a lot of sense,” Sinema told Tapper in an interview Thursday in her Senate office.
“I’ve never neatly fit into any entertainment box. I’ve never tried. I don’t want to,” she added. “By removing myself from the partisan structure – not only is it true who I am and how I work, but I think it will provide a place of belonging for many people across the state and country who are also tired of partisanship.”
It is unlikely that Sinem’s departure from the Democratic Party will change the balance of power in the next Senate. Democrats will have a narrow 51-49 majority that includes two independent lawmakers who are meeting with them: Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine.
While Sanders and King are formally aligning themselves with Democrats, Sinema declined to explicitly say she would do the same. She noted, however, that she expects to keep her committee assignments — a signal that she has no plans to reshuffle the Senate, since Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer controls the committee slates for Democrats.
“When I come to work every day, it’s going to be the same,” Sinema said. “I will continue to come to work and I hope to serve on the same committees I have served on and continue to work well with my colleagues in both political parties.”
But Sinema’s decision to become a political independent formalizes what has long been an independent streak for the Arizona senator, who began her political career as a member of the Green Party before being elected as a Democrat to the US House of Representatives in 2012 and the US Senate in 2018. Sinema was proud by being a thorn in the side of Democratic leaders, and her new nonpartisan affiliation will further free her to embrace anti-grain status in the Senate, though it raises new questions about how she — and Senate Democrats — will approach her re-election in 2024 as liberals already they think about the challenge.
Sinema wrote an op-ed in The Arizona Republic published Friday explaining her decision, noting that her approach in the Senate “has upset supporters in both parties.”
“When politicians are more focused on denying the opposition victory than improving the lives of Americans, the people who lose are everyday Americans,” Sinema wrote.
“That’s why I’ve joined the growing number of Arizonans rejecting partisan politics by declaring their independence from the broken partisan system in Washington.”
Sinema is up for re-election in 2024 and Arizona liberals already have potential challengers, including Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego, who said earlier this year that some Democratic senators were urging him to run against Sinema.
Sinema declined to answer questions about her re-election bid in an interview with Tapper, saying it’s simply not her focus right now.
She also dismissed criticism she may face for her decision to leave the Democratic Party.
“I’m just not worried about people who might not like this approach,” Sinema said. “What I’m concerned about is continuing to do what’s good for my country. And there are people who certainly don’t like my approach, we hear a lot about that. But the proof is in the pudding.”
Sinema and West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin have angered liberals at various points over the past two years, standing in the way of President Joe Biden’s agenda at a time when Democrats controlled the House, Senate and White House.
Sinema and Manchin have used their clout in the current 50-50 Senate — where any single Democrat could derail a bill — to influence a slew of legislation, most notably the massive $3.5 trillion Build Back Better bill that Biden proposed last year . Sinema’s objections to the corporate tax rate hike during the initial round of negotiations on the bill last year particularly upset the Liberals.
Although Sinema was blindsided by the surprise deal Manchin struck with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in July on major health care and energy bills, she ended up supporting a smaller spending package that Biden signed before the election.
Both Manchin and Sinema have also opposed Senate rule changes, despite pressure from their Senate colleagues and Biden to change them. After voting against the filibuster changes in January, the Arizona Democratic Party’s executive committee condemned Sinema.
Cinema has been at the center of several landmark bipartisan bills passed since Biden took office. She pointed to that record as evidence that her approach was effective.
“I’ve been honored to lead historic efforts, from infrastructure, to gun violence prevention, to protecting religious freedom and helping LGBT families feel safe, to CHIP legislation and science to the work we’ve done on veterans’ issues,” she told CNN. “The list is really long. And so I think the results speak for themselves. It’s okay if some people don’t like that approach.”
Sinema’s announcement comes just days after Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock won re-election in Georgia, giving Democrats the 51st Senate seat that frees them from relying on the vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Sinema declined to address questions about whether she would support Biden for president in 2024, and also said she was not considering whether a strong third party should emerge in the US.
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