Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who announced her registration as an Independent last year, has reportedly been critical of Democratic luncheons. According to Politico, she referred to them as “ridiculous” and “dumb” while speaking to GOP lobbyists at a reception earlier this year. Sinema stopped attending the caucus’ weekly luncheons, saying she was “not caucusing with the Democrats,” although she was “formally aligned with the Democrats for committee purposes.”
The senator expressed her disinterest in the lunches, stating they were unproductive and a waste of time. She described how “old dudes are eating Jell-O” and “everyone is talking about how great they are.” Sinema claimed she preferred to spend her time doing more meaningful work and boasted of her ability to lead every bipartisan vote over the last two years.
Sinema also allegedly gave the middle finger when discussing White House chief of staff Ron Klain, who left his position earlier this year. The senator revealed that a White House aide had called her last summer to ensure that all Senate Democrats were present for a confirmation vote. Sinema reportedly told the aide there was no need to worry since the vote would be bipartisan. She then said the aide was Klain and flashed the middle finger, stating that she did not call him back.
