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“I was elected as an Independent and I will finish this term as an Independent,” Sanders said at a breakfast Thursday morning hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.

Sanders has long caucused with Democrats as an independent. That has annoyed some Democrats as Sanders’s star has risen on the left. They are frustrated by his influence within a party that he refuses to embrace.

Sanders on Wednesday was named chairman of outreach, a newly created leadership post designed to leverage his reach and popularity to engage working class and young voters in the political process.

Sanders has acknowledged that he is still foggy on what the new role will entail but sketched out his early thoughts on how he might handle it.

“The real action to transform America won’t take place on Capitol Hill, it will be in the grassroots America among millions struggling economically and young people,” Sanders said.

“I initially understand my role to be to get those people into the political process to demand the U.S. Congress and government and president represent all of the people and not just those on top. I’m excited about it, but how we go about it, I don’t know,” he added.

“Why is it that tens of millions of poor people, young people and working people don’t get involved in the political process? One of the goals is to bring people into politics and make them aware it’s not just Election Day, but the other 364 days of the year are also important.”