US Senator Sinema leaves Democrats, registering as independent

WASHINGTON

US Senator Kyrsten Sinema on Friday announced she is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent.

“I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington,” she wrote in an op-ed published in The Arizona Republic.

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

Although Sinema’s move does not change the balance of power in the Senate, it is still alarming for the Democrats, who hold a narrow majority in the US upper house.

The Arizona senator’s announcement came days after Democrats clinched an outright 51-49 majority in Senate following a runoff in the state of Georgia.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre described Sinema as a “key partner on some of the historic legislation President Biden has championed over the last 20 months.”

“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 expect that we will continue to work successfully with her,” she said in a statement.