West Virginia senator Joe Manchin, a 2021 Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year, said on Friday that he has registered as an independent, leaving the Democratic Party after more than four decades.
"To stay true to myself and remain committed to put country before party, I have decided to register as an independent with no party affiliation and continue to fight for America’s sensible majority," Manchin said in a Friday statement.
The longtime moderate said he has "always focused on doing what’s best for my state and my country, without regard to party or politics," emphasizing his "commitment to common sense, bipartisanship and my desire to bring people together."
Manchin said, however, that since becoming a senator in 2010, he has "seen both the Democrat and Republican parties leave West Virginia and our country behind for partisan extremism while jeopardizing our democracy."
"Today, our national politics are broken and neither party is willing to compromise to find common ground," Manchin added.
The West Virginia senator, who has ruled out both a reelection and White House bid, "will continue to caucus with Senate Democrats until the end of his term, … meaning the balance of power in the upper chamber will not change significantly," Fox News Digital reported.
Manchin was honored in December 2021 as a Free Beacon Man of the Year for "repeated gut-punches to progressives."
His achievements that year included "dashing plans to scrap the filibuster," "killing a voting bill that would have made it easier for Democrats to commit election fraud," "blocking the nomination of Neera Tanden for director of the Office of Management and Budget, due to rude Tweets," and "torpedoing" President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan.