Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema has announced that she is leaving the Democratic Party to register as an independent, thus abandoning a formation in which she has repeatedly frustrated the most progressive elements of the party by her refusal to adopt some of the most important initiatives presented by the White House.
«I’ve registered as an independent for Arizona. I know some people are going to be a little surprised, but I think it makes a lot of sense, because I’ve never fit comfortably in any party,» Sinema said in an interview with CNN late Thursday.
Sinema’s departure will not affect, according to the network’s experts, the new composition of the US Senate, where the Democrats will enjoy, thanks to the re-election of their senator Raphael Warnock in Georgia, a narrow majority of 51 to 49 seats thanks to the support of independent senators Bernie Sanders (Vermont), one of the icons of Democratic progressivism, and Angus King (Maine).
The White House has decided to fire Sinema with a conciliatory statement in which, however, it confirms that the senator’s resignation does not alter her prospects in the new upper chamber.
«Sinema has been a key ally on some of the historic legislation that President Biden has championed over the past 20 months,» White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.
«We understand that her decision to register as an independent in Arizona does not change the new Democratic majority control of the Senate, and we have every reason to believe we will continue to work successfully with her,» she added.
Both Sinema and West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin have acted in recent months as obstacles to the adoption of White House bills such as the Build Back Better economic stimulus plan or the elimination of the Senate filibuster, which earned Sinema an admonishment from her own Arizona Democratic Party.
«For me, the decision to disengage from the party structure is not only an exercise in honesty with myself and the way I am, but it will provide a refuge for many people in the country who are tired of partisanship,» she added.
Sinema, who avoided answering questions about her possible re-election or her endorsement of Biden for the 2024 elections, ended up defending her work in the Senate as a «leader of historic efforts on infrastructure projects, protection of religious liberties, gun control or help for war veterans»: «The list is really long and I think the results speak for themselves, so I’m fine that some people are not comfortable with the way I act,» she concluded.
