US Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona announced on Friday that she has left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent, but said she does not plan to vote with Republicans, ensuring Democrats will retain their narrow majority in the Senate.
“Like a lot of Arizonans, I have never fit perfectly in either national party,” Ms Sinema said in an article for The Arizona Republic newspaper.
Ms Sinema models her political approach on the renegade style of the late Republican senator John McCain, also from Arizona, and has frustrated Democratic colleagues at times with her overtures to Republicans and opposition to Democratic priorities.
She said she was “declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington”.
Ms Sinema's departure from the Democratic Party is not entirely surprising, as the first-term senator put up frequent roadblocks to progressive priorities, such as a minimum wage increase or President Joe Biden’s big social spending initiatives.
Still, the White House was quick to praise Ms Sinema, calling her a “key partner” on several important pieces of legislation.
“We understand that her decision to register as an Independent in Arizona does not change the new Democratic majority control of the Senate, and we have every reason to expect that we will continue to work successfully with her,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Ms Sinema wrote in The Arizona Republic that she came into office pledging “to be independent and work with anyone to achieve lasting results”.
“I committed [that] I would not demonise people I disagreed with, engage in name-calling, or get distracted by political drama. I promised I would never bend to party pressure.”
She wrote that her approach was “rare in Washington and has upset partisans in both parties” but “has delivered lasting results for Arizona”.
Two other current senators — Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine — are registered Independents but reliably vote with Democrats.
Together with Mr Sanders and Mr King, the Democrats have 50 reliable votes in the 100-seat Senate, whereas the Republicans only have 49. Even if Ms Sinema decided to vote with the Republicans, the Democrats would still hold a technical majority as Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tie-breaking vote.
Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego slammed his colleague in a Tweet saying: “Unfortunately, once again Ms Sinema is putting her own interests ahead of getting things done for Arizonans".
Ms Sinema told Politico that she will not caucus with Republicans and that she plans to keep voting as she has since winning election to the Senate in 2018 after three House terms.
“Nothing will change about my values or my behaviour,” she said.
She faces re-election in 2024 and is likely to be matched against a well-funded primary challenger after angering much of the Democratic base. She has not said whether she plans to seek another term.
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
MATCH INFO
Qalandars 112-4 (10 ovs)
Banton 53 no
Northern Warriors 46 all out (9 ovs)
Kumara 3-10, Garton 3-10, Jordan 2-2, Prasanna 2-7
Qalandars win by six wickets
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Results
5.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m
Winner Spirit Of Light, Clement Lecoeuvre (jockey), Erwan Charpy (trainer)
6.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner Bright Start, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor
6.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 2,000m
Winner Twelfthofneverland, Nathan Crosse, Satish Seemar
7.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Imperial Empire, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
7.50pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 2,000m
Winner Record Man, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
8.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,600m
Winner Celtic Prince, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
South Africa 66 (Tries: De Allende, Nkosi, Reinach (3), Gelant, Steyn, Brits, Willemse; Cons: Jantjies 8)
Canada 7 (Tries: Heaton; Cons: Nelson)
