Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona is reportedly stepping into a new role in the media world, joining the Washington Reporter as a columnist, according to an announcement released Monday by the publication.
The outlet said Sinema will provide readers with what it described as a rare perspective on the policy debates shaping Washington. Editors at the Washington Reporter framed the move as part of a broader effort to build a platform focused on substantive reporting and policy analysis at a time when many Americans remain skeptical of traditional political coverage.
“This is another step in establishing the Reporter as an independent, nonpartisan outlet dedicated to serious reporting and real policy insights,” co-founders Brian Colas and Garrett Ventry said in a statement announcing Sinema’s arrival. They added that the publication plans to introduce additional contributing columnists in the coming weeks.
The Washington Reporter positions itself as an outlet aligned with conservative values while also emphasizing a tone that is less self-serious than some legacy publications. According to its Muck Rack profile, the organization aims to be “insightful” and “useful” to Capitol Hill staff while approaching politics as “happy warriors” who do not take themselves too seriously.
Sinema’s move comes as the Reporter continues to expand its presence in Washington media circles. In October, the publication joined the Pentagon press corps under a controversial arrangement that requires participating outlets to report only on information cleared by Defense Department officials.
The protocol was widely rejected by traditional news organizations, which chose not to accept the restrictions. As a result, those outlets lost their office space and direct access to officials within the Pentagon.
The Washington Reporter sharply criticized those organizations for refusing to comply with the guidelines. In an opinion piece responding to the dispute, the outlet accused other media groups of turning the policy into a political controversy.
“We unequivocally condemn the left-wing hacks who’ve inflated these guidelines into a manufactured crisis,” the publication wrote. “Their sanctimonious posturing reveals more about them than the policies they defame.”
The outlet also urged other news organizations to reconsider their stance and accept the arrangement. “The Washington Reporter calls on our peers, especially from outlets with less reach than ours like the Washington Post, to reject this performative outrage, embrace the guidelines and embrace common sense,” the opinion piece continued.
Sinema’s addition brings a high-profile political figure into the Reporter’s lineup of contributors. After leaving the Senate, she joined the global lobbying firm Hogan Lovells last year as a senior adviser.
Her career in Washington has often defied easy political categorization. Sinema was elected to the Senate as a Democrat but broke with her party in 2022 to become an independent. During her time in office, she frequently maintained a voting record that was more conservative than that of many Democrats, placing her at odds with parts of her former party while drawing interest from political observers across the ideological spectrum.
Now, with a new platform at the Washington Reporter, Sinema appears poised to bring that same unconventional perspective to the world of political commentary.
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