Sinema: The First Bisexual Senator in Arizona and a Tool for Defending the Democrats’ Left-Right Correspondence
CNN’s sources say that Sinema gave the White House a heads up about her leaving the Democratic Party and that Schumer was aware of it.
“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,” she tweeted.
“When I come to work each day, it’ll be the same,” Sinema said. I will come to work and hopefully serve on the same committees I have been serving on and still work well with my colleagues at both political parties.
The first openly bisexual senator in U.S. history is also the first female senator from Arizona, as well as the first Democrat in 30 years to be elected to the Senate. She promised to be an independent voice for Arizonans.
“When politicians are more focused on denying the opposition party a victory than they are on improving Americans’ lives, the people who lose are everyday Americans,” Sinema wrote.
Sinema is up for reelection in 2024 and liberals in Arizona are already floating potential challengers, including Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego, who said earlier this year that some Democratic senators have urged him to run against Sinema.
“I’m just not worried about folks who may not like this approach,” Sinema said. “What I am worried about is continuing to do what’s right for my state. Many people who don’t like my approach we hear about it. But it’s the pudding that has the proof.
Sinema and Manchin have been standing in the way of President Biden’s agenda over the past couple of years, angering liberals.
The deal that Manchin cut with Schumer in July on health care and energy legislation was a bit of a surprise to Sinema, who eventually supported the larger spending package that Biden signed into law.
A Conversation with Sen. Sinema on the Issues of Infrastructure, Human Rights, Gun Safety, and Healthcare in the U.S. Senate
She said she was honored to lead historic efforts from infrastructure, to gun violence prevention, to protecting religious liberty and helping LGBT families feel secure. There’s a long list. I think that the results speak for themselves. It’s ok if some people don’t like that approach.
Sinema’s move is unlikely to change the power balance in the Senate, as it comes days after Sen. Raphael Warnock won the Georgia runoff election to give Democrats a 51-49 majority. That includes two independents who caucus with them, Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine.
Sinema declined to address questions about whether she would support Biden for president in 2024, and she also said she’s not thinking about whether a strong third party should emerge in the US.
Over the last two years, she and fellow moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Machin of West Virginia have been criticized as standing in the way of President Biden’s agenda by regularly holding up or objecting to parts of key legislation, as was the case with Democrats’ key budget package.
She admitted in the Friday’s op-ed that her approach has upset both Democrats and Republicans. “It is also an approach that has delivered lasting results for Arizona.”
Sinema pointed to her work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation related to critical infrastructure, economic competitiveness, water issues, veterans’ benefits, marriage access for LGTBQ Americans and gun safety, among other issues.
She named a number of areas in which she continues to maintain her positions and priorities, for example that “a woman’s health care decision should be between her, her doctor and her family” and that she ensures fair and humane treatment for migrants.
If anyone supported me before because they believed I would be a blindly loyal vote for a partisan agenda, then that’s what they’ll do again.