Senate Shake-Up, Brazil Eliminated, and Falling in Love

Senate Shake-Up 

Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) announced yesterday she is switching her party affiliation to independent. Sinema, who has positioned herself as moderate in the chamber along with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), is the first senator to leave her party since 2009. See other senators who switched parties during their service here.

Sinema's announcement (see here, via Twitter) comes days after Democrats secured 51 seats in the 100-member Senate. In explaining her decision, Sinema said she "never really fit into a box of any political party" and that she will neither caucus with Republicans nor change the way she has voted. Sinema is expected to keep her Democratic committee assignments. She joins Sens. Angus King (ME) and  Bernie Sanders (VT), who are both independents but generally caucus with Democrats. 

While the first-term senator has broken with the Democratic party over certain issues, including the Build Back Better stimulus package, she has supported major Democratic bills 97% of the time, including the $1.9T American Rescue Plan. See her voting record here. 

Political analysts say America's two-party political system makes it difficult for independents to win elections. Sinema has not said whether she will run for reelection in 2024, though she would have faced a challenge from Rep. Ruben Gallego (D, AZ-7).

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Historybook: Encyclopædia Britannica first published (1768); Poet Emily Dickinson born (1830); Inventor Alfred Nobel, founder of Nobel Prizes, dies (1896); Spanish-American War ends (1898); Comedian Richard Pryor dies (2005); Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet dies (2006).