Kyrsten Sinema announces she is quitting Democratic Party to become an independent

Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema has announced she is leaving the Democratic Party to sit as an independent, leaving her party with the same number of Senate seats they had before the midterm elections.

Revealing the news on Twitter along with a slick campaign-style video, Ms Sinema – whose economically conservative centrism has at times caused major problems for Joe Biden’s agenda – wrote that “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.

“Over the past four years, I’ve worked proudly with other Senators in both parties and forged consensus on successful laws helping everyday Arizonans build better lives for themselves and their families.

“Becoming an Independent won’t change my work in the Senate; my service to Arizona remains the same.”

Ms Sinema becomes the third independent currently sitting in the upper chamber of Congress, joining Vermont’s Bernie Sanders and Maine’s Angus King – both of whom caucus with the Democrats, thus giving Mr Biden’s party the majority.

In an op-ed in the Arizona Republic, Ms Sinema does not say whether she will do the same, meaning it is not clear how her move will affect the crucial arithmetic of filling committees.

Raphael Warnock’s victory in the Georgia runoff this week gave Democrats a 51st vote in the Senate, meaning the party would have majorities on committees that in the current Congress have been tied. That in turn would mean they had a far better chance of confirming crucial Biden adminstration nominees in votes that tend to fall along party lines.

Before Ms Sinema’s announcement, the Democrats were relieved that West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin would no longer be the effective deciding vote in the Senate as they try to advance policies on energy, welfare and wages that he has doggedly opposed. Ms Sinema, however, has been almost as much of a problem for the party, particularly when it comes to raising the minimum wage, a key progressive priority.

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