Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said in an interview Monday that it was wrong for the Republican National Committee (RNC) to censure him and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) for their work on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the Capitol.
In an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show, Kinzinger said that the RNC’s censure “was a bridge that went way too far.”
He told MSNBC that the Jan. 6 committee is “working together, pulling in the same direction all to get one thing, which is answers.”
In a separate interview with CNN’s “New Day” on Monday, Kinzinger said the RNC is “completely unmoored from truth.”
He said it had “pledged allegiance to one man over any kind of principle.”
“Conservatism is no longer about what you actually believe, it’s about how intensely you’re loyal to Donald Trump,” he said. This in turn shows the party “is not committed to the rule of law, despite what they say and it’s not committed to democratic principles,” he told CNN.
The RNC resolution said Friday that Cheney and Kinzinger have been engaging in the “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse,” referring to the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol.
Officials later said that language was not referring to those who took violent actions and entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, but the language voted upon by the RNC was not changed.
Kinzinger and Cheney have both taken severe political lumps for their criticism of former President Trump, who was impeached for a second time for inciting the Jan. 6 mob, and for their work on the panel.
Cheney was booted from House GOP leadership and is facing a Trump-backed primary challenger. Kinzinger has decided to not run for reelection.