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Good morning, Playbookers.

I'm Rogum Winovalin.

It's Friday.

Breaking news.

In this morning, Senator Kirsten Cinema is leaving the Democratic Party.

It's your Politico Playbook Daily Briefing.

Politico's Burgess Everett has the mega scoop up this morning.

In today's playbook, Arizona Senator

Kirsten Cinema is changing her party affiliation to independent, delivering a jolt

to Democrats' narrow majority and Washington along with it. In a 45-minute interview,

the first term Senator told Politico that she will not caucus with Republicans and suggested

that she intends to vote the same

way she has for four years in the Senate.

She said nothing will change about my values or my behavior.

Provided that cinema sticks to that vow, Democrats will still have a workable Senate majority

in the next Congress, though it will not exactly be the neat and tidy 51 seats they assumed. They're expected to also have the votes to control Senate committees.

And Cinema's move means Senator Jill Manchin, a pivotal swing vote in the 50-50 chamber

the past two years, will hold onto some, but not all of his outsized influence in the Democratic

caucus.

You can catch the full piece in today's playbook, but some quick excerpts.

First, when asked on running for election in 2024, cinema wouldn't entertain discussions

...