Five veterans on Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s advisory council resigned Thursday, accusing the centrist Arizona Democrat of being “one of the principal obstacles to progress” because she refuses to back key provisions of President Biden’s agenda that “support our veteran community and protect the very heart and soul of our nation.”

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       In a letter, first reported by the New York Times, the veterans said they could no longer stand by Sinema as she continues to oppose portions of the president’s multitrillion-dollar domestic policy agenda. They also criticized her opposition to abolishing the filibuster, a tool Republicans are using to block voting rights legislation.

       The veterans said Sinema is hanging her constituents “out to dry” and accused her of “answering to donors rather than your own people.”

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       “We shouldn’t have to buy representation from you, and your failure to stand by your own people and see their urgent needs is alarming,” they said.

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       The group also took issue with her lack of support for negotiations on reducing the cost of prescription medication, which they said contravenes her campaign promises.

       “These are not the actions of a maverick,” they said, referencing the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Sinema’s predecessor and self-described role model.

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       Portions of the letter are being used in a new ad by the progressive veterans group Common Defense. The ad will air in Phoenix and Tucson and calls on Sinema to support Biden’s economic agenda.

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       In response to the letter, Sinema lamented the veterans’ departure from her advisory council but said she appreciates “their diverse views [and] contributions to legislation.”

       “While it is unfortunate that apparent disagreement on separate policy issues has led to this decision, I thank them for their service and will continue working every day to deliver for Arizona’s veterans who have sacrificed so much to keep us safe and secure,” she said in a statement.

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       A spokeswoman for Sinema said the senator regularly meets with members of her veterans’ advisory council to discuss veterans issues and other topics. The five veterans who quit the council had been working with Sinema since 2019. Their term was set to end in December.

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       The veterans’ resignations add to the frustration many in Sinema’s circle have felt in recent weeks as the centrist Democrat continues pushing against key provisions in the Biden agenda despite compromises from both the president and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

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       Sinema has received plenty of criticism from constituents in her politically competitive state, with protesters confronting her in airports, on airplanes and in bathrooms. The bathroom incident, in particular, drew rebuke from the senator, who called it “wholly inappropriate.”

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       Still, because Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate, the Biden agenda cannot afford to lose the support of Sinema or fellow centrist Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.). Unlike Manchin, however, Sinema is withholding her support while not sharing which specific elements of Biden’s domestic policy bill she actually wants to see in a final version. Manchin is known for regularly communicating what he will and won’t support.