Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced today she is ditching her current status as a Democrat and changing her party affiliation to independent.
What this will mean for the Democrats’ meager 51-49 majority isn’t yet clear, though Sinema intends to keep voting the way she’s been voting, which is mostly down the line with the Democratic agenda. On the other hand, Sinema has been a thorn for Democrats, often holding back far-left progressive legislation from the House with her independent-minded colleague, Sen. Joe Manchin.
This doesn’t mean Sinema will be caucusing with Republicans as the affiliation move seems largely symbolic:
In a 45-minute interview, the first-term senator told POLITICO that she will not caucus with Republicans and suggested that she intends to vote the same way she has for four years in the Senate. “Nothing will change about my values or my behavior,” she said.
Provided that Sinema sticks to that vow, Democrats will still have a workable Senate majority in the next Congress, though it will not exactly be the neat and tidy 51 seats they assumed. They’re expected to also have the votes to control Senate committees. And Sinema’s move means Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) — a pivotal swing vote in the 50-50 chamber the past two years — will hold onto some but not all of his outsized influence in the Democratic caucus.
Sinema would not address whether she will run for reelection in 2024, and informed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of her decision on Thursday.
“I don’t anticipate that anything will change about the Senate structure,” Sinema said, adding that some of the exact mechanics of how her switch affects the chamber is “a question for Chuck Schumer … I intend to show up to work, do the same work that I always do. I just intend to show up to work as an independent.”
Well, if nothing’s changing, then why bother announcing that you’re no longer calling yourself a Democrat? Perhaps it’s related to an upcoming re-election bid in 2024 where she’d rather not be tied to the national party and President Biden’s bad record, though her Arizona Democratic colleague, Sen. Mark Kelly, didn’t seem to have an issue winning another term.
Sinema put out a fluffy, piano-laden video this morning to accompany her party change in which she talks about Arizona. A lot:
In a natural extension of my service since I was first elected to Congress, I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington and formally registering as an Arizona Independent. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/jUQHAeuxym
— Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) December 9, 2022
For what it’s worth, Sinema has faced a lot of harassment over the past couple of years from Democrats for not swallowing the progressive agenda and giving a rubber stamp to new spending and expanded social programs. She’s been more of a pragmatist with a liberal bent in her personal ideology.
From the tone of the video, it seems like Sinema is largely done with the craziness of her own party and the way woke policies infect everything they do. Back in October, former Hawaii Rep. and former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard left the Democratic Party as well, though she took a stronger right-wing turn than Sinema.
If you recall back in January of this year, Sinema took to the Senate floor with a personal rebuke of President Biden’s attempt to nuke the filibuster:
BREAKING: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema praises proposed voting rights bills but reiterates support for filibuster rule, saying "I will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country." https://t.co/ihVuth6xKF pic.twitter.com/GVNP9wBLYe
— ABC News (@ABC) January 13, 2022
What this does for the Senate next year will play out in the coming weeks. Does this give Sinema more power or less? She’s still a vote that Dems need to secure if they’re going to pass anything meaningful. By the looks of things, the Senate will still belong to Sinema and Manchin for the next two years.
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