Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said Thursday that newly elected Rep. Marjorie Greene (R-Ga.) is “not a Republican” and that she should not be permitted to sit on any congressional committees.
Speaking with John Berman on CNN’s “New Day,” Kinzinger was asked by the host for his thoughts on Greene following revelations that she previously expressed support on Facebook for violence against Democrats. She also supported the QAnon conspiracy before being elected to Congress in November.
“Well let’s be clear, she’s not a Republican,” said Kinzinger. “I mean, she may be like this new definition of Republican, but that’s — that’s kind of a RINO thing and Republican in name only.”
Kinzinger’s remarks come a day after a video surfaced that appeared to show Greene heckling David Hogg, a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018, calling him a “coward.”
Berman noted on Thursday that Greene is a member of the House Education and Labor Committee.
“I personally don’t think she should have any committees,” Kinzinger said.
When Berman asked Kinzinger about his characterization that Greene was “not a Republican,” pointing to her election results that showed a great deal of support for her among Republican voters, Kinzinger responded: “In this moment, I don’t think she in any way can define the party, and everybody calls me a RINO and I’m as conservative as anybody out there.”
Kinzinger was one of 10 Republicans in the House who voted to impeach former President Trump earlier this month.
When asked if he felt there was a place for him in the Republican Party, Kinzinger said, “I don’t know the answer to that.”
The Illinois representative, who was first elected to Congress in 2010, said if it came to the point where he was completely isolated due to not being “angry enough,” then “that’ll be a moment.”
Kinzinger added that he would not become a third-party politician.
“It’ll be the Republican or the Democratic Party,” he said, but affirmed his continued support for the GOP.