- Arizona Sen. Krysten Sinema announced Friday that she's leaving the Democratic Party to be an independent.
- Sinema said she is stepping away from a "broken partisan system."
Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's announcement that she's leaving the Democratic Party to become a registered independent comes just days after the Democrats secured a 52-seat majority in the Senate. Despite Sinema's party exit, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted Friday that President Joe Biden and his staff "understand her decision" and they "have every reason to expect that we will continue to work successfully with her."
"Senator Sinema has been a key partner on some of the historic legislation President Biden has championed over the last 20 months," Jean-Pierre tweeted. "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."
A White House spokesperson did not respond when asked whether the White House received advance warning about her decision and whether Biden has spoken with her. As vice president, Biden was credited with playing an outsized role in persuading then-Sen. Arlen Specter to switch parties from Republican to Democrat in 2009.
But lobbying efforts from Biden likely wouldn't have persuaded Sinema, said John LaBombard, Sinema's former communications director.
"But he shouldn't feel the need to either, because Senator Sinema and he have a good working relationship, and — as the White House said in its statement today — she's been the leader on a number of big bipartisan legislative wins sought by President Biden," he said. "Her values and voting record won't be changing, so I expect that good working relationship to continue."
Some notable pieces of legislation that have passed during the Biden administration with help from Sinema include the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act to the CHIPS and Science Act, the PACT Act, the Gun Safety Act, and the Respect for Marriage Act.
—Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) December 9, 2022
Democrats won a 51-49 majority in the Senate after Raphael Warnock defeated Republican Herschel Walker in Georgia's runoff election on December 6.
Sinema told Politico that her departure from the Democratic Party stems from her feeling like she "never really fit into a box of any political party. The senator said her party affiliation switch won't change the way she votes, and that she won't caucus with Republicans.
Democrats may still have to rely on Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking votes if Sinema decides not to vote with her former party.