(Bloomberg) — Senator Joe Manchin has left the Democratic Party to become an independent, but that won’t shift the balance of power in the chamber.
Manchin, of West Virginia, previously announced he would not run for reelection or for president.
He faced a deadline Friday to change his party affiliation to preserve his ability to run in November as an independent, and he has two months to decide whether to file for the ballot, per a spokesperson for the West Virginia secretary of state’s office.
His office had no immediate comment if he might run as an independent for Senate or make another run for governor in the state, but spokesperson Charlotte Laracy said the 76-year-old will still caucus with Democrats, maintaining the party’s 51-49 control of the Senate.
Manchin joins his longtime ally, Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who also switched to independent and has announced plans to retire at the end of this Congress. Sinema typically votes with Democrats.
“I have never seen America through a partisan lens,” said Manchin, who has been vocally disenchanted with partisan politics.
“I have seen both the Democrat and Republican parties leave West Virginia and our country behind for partisan extremism while jeopardizing our democracy,” he added.
Manchin said he would “continue to fight for America’s sensitive majority.”
Manchin, who chairs the Senate’s energy panel, has been frustrated by President Joe Biden’s implementation of the energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act law Manchin largely authored. Those include temporarily exempting Chinese graphite from the EV tax credit rules.
His main legislative focus this year is to pass a sweeping overhaul of permitting rules to accelerate energy and other projects that often are tied up for years in government approvals or in the courts.
–With assistance from Zach C. Cohen.
(Updates with Manchin will still caucus with Democrats, other details beginning in third paragraph.)
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