Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) couldn’t be bothered much with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s decision to leave the Democratic Party, saying in an interview Sunday it was likely for the best.
“I don’t want to spend a whole lot of time on Senator Sinema,” he told Dana Bash on CNN’s State of the Union. “She has her reasons, Dana. I happen to suspect it’s a lot to do with politics back in Arizona. I think the Democrats there 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.”
Sinema announced on Friday she would leave the Democratic Party and register as an independent, claiming the two-party structure did not properly capture her ideology. She noted she had no plans to caucus with Republicans, however, even as she has found common ground with GOP senators in her four years in the higher chamber.
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Her decision makes her the third U.S. senator to identify as an independent but also caucus with the Democrats, a category shared by Sens. Angus King (I-ME) and Sanders. Because of that decision, Sanders said, the functions of the Senate (and its newly increased Democratic majority) won’t change much.
But that doesn’t mean he was happy sharing that space with Sinema. He told Bash he would consider backing a Democratic progressive candidate in a senatorial race in Arizona in 2024, when Sinema is up for reelection and could face challengers from both the Republican and Democratic parties.
“I support progressive candidates all over this country, people who have the guts to take on powerful special interests,” he said. “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.”
Does Sinema have the guts to take them on, Bash asked.
“No, she doesn’t,” Sanders affirmed. “She’s a corporate Democrat who has, along with Senator [Joe] Manchin [of West Virginia], sabotaged enormously important legislation.”
