Sen. Kyrsten Sinema leaves Democrats, registers as Independent, but White House doesn’t expect change to majority

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona announced on Friday that she would be leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an Independent, which surprised some in her party. However, Sinema said she will not be caucusing with Republicans, which would bring the U.S. Senate back to a 50-50 split, all but ensuring the Democrats will maintain their slim majority. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration was confident they would still be able to work with Sinema on pushing through various pieces of legislation.