His resignation comes a day after 12 jurors convicted ex-president Donald Trump for falsifying his records.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has quit President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party to register as an Independent citing worries over “party extremism” displayed by both the Democrats and Republicans in the run-up to the presidential election in November.
Mr Manchin, who joined the Senate in 2010, has said that he will not be seeking another six-year term in the upcoming elections.
He said the decision to resign from the Democrats was borne from the need to place himself and the nation far above party affiliations given that the party ideals no longer aligned with his.
“Today, our national politics are broken and neither party is willing to compromise to find common ground,” Mr Manchin said in a statement Friday. “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.”
The Senator said both Dems and Reps have continued to take actions that could destroy U.S. democracy and he no longer wished to be identified as a Dem but as an Independent.
“Since becoming a United States senator in 2010, I have seen both the Democrat and Republican parties leave West Virginia and our country behind for partisan extremism while jeopardising our democracy,” Mr Manchin wrote.
His resignation comes a day after 12 jurors convicted ex-president Donald Trump for falsifying his records and concealing information about a hush money payment to porn star, Stormy Daniels, days before the 2016 elections.
