Sinema has left the party and is registering as an independent
Arizona Senator 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’m registered as an Arizona independent. I know some people are 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 never really fit into any party box. I never really tried.
No,” she added. “Removing me from the partisan structure — not only being true to who I am and how I operate but also providing space for many who are tired of partisanship in the state and the country.” Sinema’s departure from the Democratic Party is unlikely to change the balance of power in the next Senate. Democrats hold a slim 51-49 majority, including two independents: Sens.
Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine. While Sanders and King have officially met with Democrats, she declined to make it clear she would do the same. Still, she said she hopes to keep her committee assignments — indicating she doesn’t intend to increase the Senate’s composition as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer controls committee rosters for Democrats.
This is how it is when you come to work every day,” said the Sinema crew. “I will still come to work and serve on the same committees I serve on and continue to work well with my colleagues in both political parties.” But Sinema’s decision to become a political independent officially marks an independent streak for the Arizona senator, who ran for the US House in 2012.
She began her political career as a member of the Green Party before being elected to the US Senate in 2018. A Democrat. Sinema prides herself on being a thorn in the side of Democratic leaders, and her new nonpartisan affiliation frees her to take positions that go against the grain in the Senate, though she — and Senate Democrats — have raised new questions about how. – With her up for re-election in 2024, the Liberals are already facing a challenge.
Sinema wrote an op-ed explaining her decision in the Arizona Republic published Friday, saying her approach in the Senate “upset partisans in both parties.” “When politicians focus more on denying the opposing party victory than on improving the lives of Americans, the people who lose are everyday Americans,” the Sinema reads.
“That’s why I join a growing number of Arizonans rejecting party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington.” Sinema is up for re-election in 2024, and Arizona’s liberals already represent Arizona. There are potential challengers, including Ruben Gallego, who earlier this year asked some Democratic senators to run against him over the Sinema. In an interview with Tapper, Sinema declined to address questions about her re-election bid, which is not her current focus.
She also brushed aside criticism of her decision to leave the Democratic Party. “I don’t worry about people who don’t like this approach,” Sinema says. “I am concerned about doing what is right for my state. And there are people who definitely don’t like my approach, we hear a lot about that. But the proof is in the drink. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Sinema a “key partner” following her decision and said the White House “has every reason to expect that we will continue to work successfully with her.”
Sources familiar with the matter told CNN that Schumer was also aware of Sinema’s bombshell announcement Friday morning, giving the White House a heads-up that she was leaving the Democratic Party. The Biden White House gave a muted reaction Friday morning and insisted they hoped to maintain a productive working relationship with the senator.
A White House official told CNN that the move “doesn’t make much difference” to Sinema’s own reelection calculations. “We have worked effectively with her on several major pieces of legislation, from CHIPS to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act,” the official said. The White House, for now, “has every reason to expect this to continue,” they added.
The image has long been the source of a complex mix of opportunity, frustration, and confusion inside the White House. “A Rubik’s Cube, I guess?” This is how a former senior White House official described the Arizona senator who played a central role in both the president’s biggest legislative victories and his biggest agenda disappointments. There was little pressure for the Sinema to change its mind, the White House official said, adding that it made no difference.