POLITICO's Burgess Everett with a mega-scoop this morning: “Arizona Sen.
Kyrsten Sinema is changing her party affiliation to independent,
delivering a jolt to Democrats’ narrow majority and Washington along
with it.

“In a 45-minute interview, the first-term senator told POLITICO that she
will not caucus with Republicans and suggested that she intends to vote
the same way she has for four years in the Senate. ‘Nothing will change
about my values or my behavior,’ she said.

“Provided that Sinema sticks to that vow, Democrats will still have a
workable Senate majority in the next Congress, though it will not
exactly be the neat and tidy 51 seats they assumed. They’re expected to
also have the votes to control Senate committees. And Sinema’s move
means Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) — a pivotal swing vote in the 50-50
chamber the past two years — will hold onto some but not all of his
outsized influence in the Democratic caucus.”

Plus, Mike DeBonis and Rachael Bade discuss the feasibility of a
so-called unity House speaker, and FDA reporter and astrology emperor
Katherine Foley stops by for some birthday news. 

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Raghu Manavalan is the Host and Senior Editor of POLITICO's Playbook
Daily Briefing.
Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.