White House and Schumer insist Sinema party switch to Independent does not change Democrat majority

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Sinema remains a “key partner” in the Biden administration, but declined to say whether the senator had briefed the White House on his decision.

The Arizona senator shocked the Capitol on Friday when she announced that she would change her party affiliation from Democratic to Independent.

‘We understand your decision to register as an Independent in Arizona. The way we see it and understand it, the new Democratic majority control of the Senate does not change. And we have every reason to hope that we will continue to work with her.’

Asked why the White House expected Sinema to work with them on her agenda, the press secretary added: “Because she has voted with the president 93 percent of the time, because she has worked with us on key priorities of this administration.”

The Arizona senator, right, shocked the Capitol on Friday when she announced she would change her party affiliation from Democratic to Independent.

He cited Sinema’s ‘yes’ vote on the CHIPS Act, the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Democrat-only Reduced Inflation Act.

Yet the moderate senator from Arizona had been a thorn in the president’s side on the defunct Build Back Better bill, opposing tax increases for corporations and high-income earners.

The former Democrat says she will continue to vote the way she has during her first four years as an Arizona senator, without being constrained by party politics.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer insisted that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema keep her committee assignments as others criticized her for leaving the Democratic Party.

‘Sinema informed me of her decision to change her affiliation to Independiente. He asked me to keep his duties on the committee and I agreed,” Schumer said in a statement.

‘Kyrsten is independent; that’s how she’s always been. I think she is a good and effective senator and I look forward to a productive session in the new Democratic-majority Senate,” she said. “We will maintain our new majority in committees, exercise our subpoena power, and be able to approve nominees without unloading votes.”

Sinema currently sits on the Senate Banking Committee, the Commerce Committee, the Homeland Security Committee, and the Veterans Affairs Committee.

She is chair of the Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation Subcommittee and the Government Operations and Border Management Subcommittee.

In an opinion piece for the Arizona Republic, Sinema said she had decided to leave the party to separate herself from partisan politics.

“When politicians focus more on denying the opposition party a victory than improving the lives of Americans, the people who lose are ordinary Americans,” he wrote.

“That is why I have joined the growing number of Arizonans who reject partisan politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington,” he added. ‘I registered as an Arizona independent.’

‘Goodbye Felicia!’ progressive New York Rep. Jamal Bowman wrote on Twitter. ‘This isn’t about the party, this is about your pharmaceutical donors! Stop lying!’

He included a TikTok video showing Sinema voting against raising the minimum wage in 2021.

Some Democrats have blamed Sinema for limiting prescription drug pricing reform that became the Inflation Reduction Act. He has received more than $700,000 from the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries throughout his career.

Sinema’s announcement came days after Democrats secured a lead of at least two seats in the Senate with Sen. Raphael Warnock’s victory in the Georgia runoff.

Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who is widely believed to be considering challenging Sinema in 2024, accused her of “once again putting her own interests before doing things for Arizonans.”

‘Last month, Arizona voters made their voices heard loud and clear: they want leaders who put the people of Arizona first. We need Senators who will put Arizonans ahead of Big Pharma and Wall Street bankers,’ Gallego said in a statement.

The Arizona Democratic Party issued a statement stating that Sinema had “fallen dramatically short” in supporting legislation to expand voting rights and increase corporate taxes.

Running for re-election as an independent in 2024, Sinema will have to get signatures on a petition to get on the ballot and will likely face a challenge from both a Democrat and a Republican.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that she was “grateful” Sinema had opened her seat to a Democratic challenger.

‘Not once in this long soliloquy does Sinema offer a single concrete value or policy that she believes in. He sets no goals for Arizonans, no vision, no commitments. He is “no health care, just vibes” for the Senate. People deserve more. Grateful that this race and nomination has opened up,” said the New York Democrat.