“I’ve registered as an Arizon independent,” Sinema told Jake Tapper of CNN in an interview airing Friday. She joins Senators Bernie Sanders and Angus King, the other two current independents in the Democratic controlled Senate, though she declined to say whether she would caucus with the Democratic party as Sanders and King both do regularly.
The Arizona Senator’s decision to become an independent is unlikely to change the balance of power in the Senate, where Democrats currently hold the Vice Presidency, giving them a tie-breaking vote. Sinema did indicate she expects to keep her committee assignments, suggesting that she does not plan to disrupt the current composition of the Senate.
Sinema has a history of bucking her party, and her new independent status comes as no surprise to party insiders, however, it raises questions about her reelection bid in 2024 and how Democrats will approach it. The party leaders have been hesitant to primary the Arizona Senator in recent elections and have avoided direct criticism of her, though progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have been more inclined to do so, earlier this year even suggesting she would support a primary opponent of Sinema’s.
Democrats respond to the news of Sinema’s decision
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Friday that, “Senator Sinema informed me of her decision to change her affiliation to Independent. She asked me to keep her committee assignments and I agreed.” He went on to say that he believes Sinema is, “a good and effective Senator” and that he looks forward, “…to a productive session in the new Democratic majority Senate. We will maintain our new majority on committees, exercise our subpoena power, and be able to clear nominees without discharge votes.”
The Arizona Democratic Party chair, Raquel Terán, offered a harsher response, claiming that Sinema, “has shown she answers to corporations and billionaires, not Arizonans.”
Sinema’s shift to the right
Sinema has been known to frustrate liberals by standing in the way of President Joe Biden’s agenda, often teaming up with Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia in an attempt to blunt legislation they see ass too progressive. Sinema and Manchin have both been seen as key swing votes in the 50-50 Senate, where any single Democrat can block legislation. For example, Sinema’s opposition to increasing the corporate tax rate in Biden’s $3.5 trillion Build Back Better bill last year angered liberals. Despite this, Sinema ultimately backed a smaller spending package that Biden signed into law prior to the election. Both Sinema and Manchin also opposed changes to the Senate’s filibuster rules. After voting against filibuster changes in January, the Arizona Democratic Party’s executive board censured Sinema.
Sinema was once billed herself as a progressive, though as the rose through the ranks of Arizona’s Democratic Party, she became known for her ability to compromise, which sometimes concerned her progressive allies. She also developed a reputation for being able to work with conservative Republicans, including Representative Andy Biggs and Russell Pearce, the sponsor of SB1070, a controversial law aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration. These relationships helped Sinema establish herself as a leader in the state, but they also raised concerns among some of her more liberal supporters.
Her announcement Friday comes as welcome news to Republicans, who just over a month ago thought they would hold a commanding majority of both the House and Senate. Those hopes fizzled after the midterm elections saw rare incumbent gains in the Senate and moderate losses in the house, and cementing their lead in the Senate with Raphael Warnock’s defeat of Herschel Walker in the Georgia runoff.
