Sanders: "Political aspirations" drove Sinema's Democratic Party exit
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Sunday that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's (I-Ariz.) decision to register as an independent likely "has to do with her political aspirations for the future in Arizona."
Driving the news: "I happen to suspect that it's probably a lot to do with politics back in Arizona," Sanders said on CNN's "State of the Union."
- "I think the Democrats [in Arizona] are not all that enthusiastic about somebody who helped sabotage some of the most important legislation that protects the interests of working families and voting rights and so forth," he added.
- "She is a corporate Democrat who has, in fact along with Sen. [Joe] Manchin [D-W.Va.], sabotaged enormously important legislation," the Vermont progressive said.
- He also did not commit to backing Sinema against a potential progressive Arizona Democrat in 2024.
- "I don't know what's going to be happening in Arizona, we'll see who they nominate, but certainly that's something I will take a hard look at," he said.
Sanders also said that "nothing much has changed in terms of the functioning of the U.S. Senate" after Sinema's decision to switch her party registration.
- Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) echoed Sanders on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, saying that "functionally, I don’t think it changes a thing."
- "She’s going to continue to caucus with the Democrats, so we’ll still have the committee structures that we’ve had before as far as having one more Democrat," Tester said. He added that he is looking forward to working with her.
State of play: Sinema on Friday announced that she is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent, just days after Democrats clinched a 51-seat Senate majority.
- Sinema on Sunday said that "it is important to her "to not be tethered by the partisanship that dominates politics today."
Go deeper... Why Kyrsten Sinema left the Democratic Party
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.).
