Kinzinger on leaving Congress: ‘I’m not going to miss the job’

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said on Sunday that he won’t be missing his job in Congress after his term is set to end when the new House is sworn-in on Tuesday.

“I’m not going to miss the job. I’m glad I’m not going to be back. It gives me time to focus on broader things, bigger fights,” Kinzinger said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” 

Kinzinger said his time in Congress has been a “heck of a ride” since he first took office as an “optimistic and bright-eyed” 32-year-old. He said adjusting to the fact that people will be less interested in what he has to say once he is no longer in Congress will be tough, but that the upcoming Congress is set to face a host of issues.

Kinzinger last year chose not to run for reelection to a seventh term. He was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach former President Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and was one of two Republicans who served on the committee investigating that day.

The other Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), who also voted to impeach Trump, lost her primary election in 2022.

All but two of the Republicans who voted to impeach Trump either lost their primaries to Trump-backed challengers or chose to not run for reelection. 

Kinzinger said he would not “do one thing differently” throughout his congressional career, even though the past couple years have been tough on him in Congress. 

“I’ve had extended family that sent me letters telling me I was working on behalf of Satan. I mean that’s not something I could have imagined,” he said. 

He said such a sentiment is reflective of the political state of the country.

“What that does to me is it reminds me of just how bad of a place we’ve gotten to. And you know everybody in their life, and I was no different when I was a young guy, you know, you always imagine a moment where you can stand alone and where you’re like the one person that — that can do the right thing in a crowd, right,” Kinzinger said.

“I feel honored to have been at this moment in history and to have done the right thing. You know my kid’s going to be proud of it. That’s something that I take very seriously and, you know, I wouldn’t have done anything different,” he added.