A former aide of Kyrsten Sinema has opened up about the Arizona senator's 'unbelievable' high-maintenance demands, which are detailed in an incredible 37-page document.
The guide given to staff reveals her precise requirements, including the temperature she prefers her drinking water, when she likes to eat, exactly where on the plane she is willing to sit and strict instructions regarding her weekly hour-long massage appointments.
The senator, 46, has served since January 2019 and was formerly a member of the Democratic Party before registering as an independent in 2022. She is known for her bold outfits and teaches at Arizona State University, while also training for Ironman competitions.
But in order to keep up with her busy work and personal schedule, it appears Sinema has put her aides to work - with an anonymous former worker telling The Daily Beast staff were even required to measure the size of hotel swimming pools to ensure they were suitable for her fitness needs.
'When I look back, it’s unbelievable the amount of time staffers spent just to accommodate her,' the former staffer told the news outlet.
Kyrsten Sinema's 37-page guide for her staff revealed her high-maintenance requirements to accommodate her political and personal needs
A former staffer opened up about the details behind the senator's requests, including measuring hotel swimming pools to ensure they are suitable for her fitness needs
While Sinema spends her time back and forth between Washington and Arizona, her staff know to never book her on a SouthWest flight, or put her in middle-seat or one near the restroom.
Staffers in charge of picking her up from the airport were also instructed to ensure Sinema had a bottle of 'room temperature' water ready for her.
'KS drinks A LOT of water. Make sure to always have a room temperature bottle of water for her, whether she is in the office, at call time, or in someone's car,' the document reads.
'When someone is picking KS up from the airport, they should ALWAYS have a bottle of water for her… It is your job to remind whoever is staffing KS to have water for her.'
When it comes to her personal errands, staff are also in charge of buying her groceries for the week and arranging her diary so she can eat at designated times. She then reimburses aides for the money spent.
'Due to her very high level of activity, she is always hungry and needs to consume a lot of protein each day,' the document reads.
To ensure Sinema can work out before her 8.45am start time and has a chance to rest to aid recovery, she also insists staff never schedule her for any meetings or events outside of her work hours without talking to her first.
'She wakes up very early to work out, and sleep is very important to her, the document reads. 'She will very, very rarely agree to work outside the regular hours, so only ask if it’s a big deal.'
After races, aides are also required to check in with Sinema to ask how much time she needs to recover, while two physical therapy appointments must be scheduled per week.
Yet the Senate ethics handbook suggests Sinema may be pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable.
'Staff are compensated for the purpose of assisting Senators in their official legislative and representational duties, and not for the purpose of performing personal or other non-official activities for themselves or on behalf of others,' the handbook reads.
A staff member could not verify if the information reported was correct per guidance policies from the senator's office, according to the news outlet.
It is also unclear if the extensive guidelines are up to date.
The Senate ethics handbook suggests Sinema may be pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable
Sinema, 46, has served as an Arizona senator since 2019 under the Democratic Party before making the shock move to register as an independent earlier this month
Since Sinema has a busy schedule both on and off the clock, the guidelines suggest the rules are in place to ensure the senator remains 'efficient' and wastes no time
Since Sinema has a busy schedule both on and off the clock, the guidelines suggest the rules are in place to ensure the senator remains 'efficient' and wastes no time.
While it's also unclear what rules remain, Sinema's former aide revealed the senator would designate one day to meet with multiple constituents - but only three minutes per meeting.
Sinema sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill when she announced she would be switching party affiliations earlier this month.
The former Democrat claimed she will continue to vote in the same way she has for her first four years as senator of Arizona, without being constrained by party politics.
The Ironman athlete added that her decision represents the 'growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system'.