Kyrsten Sinema's Break-Up With Dems Won't Change Much In The Senate

The NPR Politics Podcast

NPR

Politics, Daily News, News

4.5 • 24.9K Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2022

⏱️ 30 minutes

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Summary

The Arizona senator announced she was leaving the Democratic party — but given her broad support of Democratic priorities and the president's nominees, it is not expected to change the dynamics of Senate control. And the Congress is sprinting toward the finish line, codifying some protections for same-sex and interracial marriages. Incumbent lawmakers will need to extend government funding and pass a big, annual defense bill before the new Congress is sworn in early next month.

This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh, and congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales.

This episode was produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. It was edited by Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Research and fact-checking by Juma Sei.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Scott from St. Simon's Island, Georgia. This weekend, I'll be walking my sweet, smart,
0:07.3	funny, and very beautiful daughter Olivia down the aisle as she gets married to her fiance, Jay.
0:14.5	This podcast was recorded at 12.56 pm Eastern Standard Time on Friday, Friday, the 9th of December.
0:24.0	Things may have changed by the time you hear this, but I know I will soon not be losing a daughter,
0:30.8	beginning a great son-in-law. Okay, here's the show.
0:39.8	Hey there, it's the NPR Politics podcast. I'm Tamer Keith, I cover the White House.
0:44.7	I'm Claudia G'dithalis, I cover Congress, and I'm dear Dervolche, I also cover Congress.
0:48.6	Arizona Senator Kirsten Senama has announced that she is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent.
0:56.5	Her decision comes just days after Democrats won the Georgia runoff election and gained a 51-49 majority in the Senate.
1:05.7	So, Deirdre, why now? Why is she doing this? What's going on here?
1:12.1	Well, Senator Senama said she doesn't fit neatly in a party box. She had a very choreographed
1:18.4	rollout of this announcement, including talking to KJZ's Mark Brody.
1:24.0	I expect that the way I behave in the Senate, which is to show up to work every day,
1:29.4	working hard for the people of our state, that won't change at all.
1:32.6	So, I think you'll see for me exactly what you've seen for me in recent years, which is
1:37.8	a willingness to work with anyone of any political party to solve problems and get things done.
1:44.0	This is a very Senator Senama move and a very on-brand explanation for it.
1:50.0	And Senama basically just said she doesn't neatly fit into her party's box. She says she wants to
1:55.7	get away from the partisan Washington structure and it reflects her independence.
2:03.1	And that's pretty accurate. I mean, she has been notable for her breaks with her parties
2:09.5	and her resistance to be loyal to her party's agenda. She, like West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin,
2:19.5	really sort of push back on President Biden's envisioned broad legislative agenda,
	...

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