Adam KinzingerAdam Daniel KinzingerOVERNIGHT ENERGY: EPA proposes reapproving uses of pesticide linked to brain damage in children | Hispanic caucus unhappy with transition team treatment of Lujan Grisham | Schwarzenegger backs Nichols to lead EPAOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Trump admin to sell oil leases at Arctic wildlife refuge before Biden takes office |Trump administration approves controversial oil testing method in Gulf of Mexico | Rep. Scott wins House Agriculture Committee gavelDespite veto threat, Congress presses ahead on defense billMORE says he isnt scared of President TrumpDonald John TrumpDozens of protesters gathered outside home of Michigan elections chiefArizona legislature shuts down after Giuliani tests positive for coronavirusTrump election claims dominate Georgia Senate debateMORE.
Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran and lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, has garnered a reputation for being one of the few GOP lawmakers willing to push back on Trump.Â
The Illinois Republican has been one of the most outspoken critics of the administrations decision to pull troops out of Afghanistan, was one of the first in his party to recognize President-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenDozens of protesters gathered outside home of Michigan elections chiefBiden picks infectious diseases specialist to lead CDC: reportTrump election claims dominate Georgia Senate debateMORE (D) as the winner of the 2020 election, slammed the presidents allegations of voter fraud on Twitter and has come out heavily against the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Many in the Republican Party have opted not to take on their outgoing president. A few like Kinzinger have.Â
While he represents a district where Trump beat Biden handily, the Illinois Republican said he doesnt fear the possibility of facing a primary challenge from the right.Â
If someone wants to primary me then do it they’ve tried to do it every year. But, in my view, what matters is not whether I win or lose. Obviously, I want to win but it’s can you look at yourself in the mirror, Kinzinger told The Hill in an interview.
He noted that hes fended off challengers in the past and only plans to remain in Congress for as long as the people feel he best represents them.Â
I’ve been through a couple primaries right and I’ve won pretty handsomely every time. So, yeah, that’s the other thing, Im not even convinced I’m even going to run again next year because this is what happens, he added.Â
Every cycle I make the decision, it’s kind of a prayerful consideration before I have to drop petitions because I don’t want to be in a position where I’m running again simply because it’s my plan. And by that I mean, if I’m not the best person for the district, right?
Kinzinger, a defense hawk who was first elected in 2010 and has managed, said his time in the military helped shape his decision not to hold back when defending his policy stances or pushing back on rhetoric he feels is wrong.Â
I understand how politics works, and I understand that you have to be political and I’m political right, but at the same point if you’re not willing to put your career on the line for a cause how can you ask 18-year-olds to do it for the country, he said.Â
Kinzinger said he has encouraged a number of his colleagues to be more vocal, but noted the backlash on social media and through technology has been intimidating for some. Â
I’ve been surprised by a lot of people, and, you know, I think the vast majority of members of Congress think probably like I’m talking, but they look at Twitter too much, and they see our Twitter mob and it’s intimidating or they get the text messages,” he added. Â
That’s a difference between now and 20 years ago it’s everybody has cell phones now and our perception that everybody hates you, feels real, but it’s like working at a McDonald’s, drive-thru if you’re like the customer service line you’re going to get calls from people that had crappy McDonald’s, you’re not gonna hear about the wonderful Big Macs. I just wish that people don’t have to be as outspoken as I do, you know, but everybody’s looking to you.
While his commentary hasnt sat well with everyone in the GOP, House Republican Conference Chair Liz CheneyElizabeth (Liz) Lynn CheneyPressure grows from GOP for Trump to recognize Biden election winTrump: Liz Cheney’s election remarks sparked by push to bring US troops homeBiden’s lead over Trump surpasses 6M votes as more ballots are talliedMORE (Wyo.), a fellow defense hawk, said his voice has been an asset to the party.Â
I’m a huge fan of Adam he combines a real depth of experience and knowledge on foreign policy and national security issues in particular with, you know, the courage of his convictions and, you know, he will always stand up and speak out for what he knows is right. He always tells it like it is, she told The Hill in an interview.Â
… I think it’s also, he’s not somebody who speaks out all the time on every issue and so when he does speak, it tends to be about these things that matter, particularly our national security and people listen it makes a big difference.
Since getting to Congress, Kinzinger said the decisiveness has become more evident in recent years and hes been disappointed in both parties often voicing support for and expressing outrage over things they wouldn’t have during less divisive times.
I mean we’re advocating for crap now that I never would have imagined you know when Trump says he’s gonna in essence recklessly pull out of Afghanistan. There’s only a handful of us that even say anything about that, he said.Â
If [former President] Obama would have done the exact same thing, we’d be outraged.”
While some have accused Kinzinger of being anti-Trump due to his criticisms and not having endorsed him in 2016, the Illinois Republican said that isnt the case, telling The Hill he likes Trump personally, I think he’s hilarious.” But he feels the tone of the Republican Party needs to change. Kinzinger said he voted for the president in the 2020 election and agrees with a lot of what the administration has accomplished but would like to see a less divisive tone in politics.Â
A lot of the foreign policy stuff was good. I disagree with pushing NATO aside, NATO is really important. But, you know, potentially, we could get some more out of it. I think his policy on Russia was great, but his words weren’t. To this day I don’t understand why he can’t say a bad word about Putin, but his policies were really aggressive, he continued.Â
Kim Jong-unKim Jong UnNorth Korean hackers targeting pharmaceutical companies working on COVID-19 vaccines: reportUS analyst: North Korea’s Kim, family inoculated with experimental Chinese COVID-19 vaccineNorth Korea puts further restrictions on seawater entry to fight pandemic: state mediaMORE well the reason we didn’t start a war in North Korea is because you were really nice to Kim Jong-un. So to say your accomplishment is that you didn’t start a war, well I could always not start a war, it’s the Reagan line of, you know, There’s a way to have peace and have it tomorrow, surrender, right? So there’s a lot of good, some bad, but the biggest thing to me isn’t the issues, it’s the tongue. And it’s that we’ve become unable to talk.
Kinzinger, member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus who has become known for his willingness to work across the aisle, said, There will constantly be a fight in the party…But I think ultimately people are going to recognize the tone has to change.”
Rep. Seth MoultonSeth MoultonBattle for Pentagon post in Biden Cabinet heats upUS national security policy in the 117th Congress and a new administrationOvernight Defense: Trump fires Defense chief Mark Esper | Worries grow about rudderless post-election Pentagon | Esper firing hints at broader post-election shake-up | Pelosi says Esper firing shows Trump intent on sowing ‘chaos’MORE (D-Mass.) said he has found Kinzinger easier to work with than the majority of members across the aisle despite not always seeing eye-to-eye on policy.Â
I always know that when I go to Adam I can find a reasonable voice, someone who will listen, and someone who I don’t always agree with, but at least has a lot more courage than most people around here,” he told The Hill.Â
“He’s absolutely easier to collaborate with because he believes in facts and principal, and it doesn’t mean that we always agree, but at least we can have a reasonable discussion, and he’s genuinely interested in doing productive things and getting things done. And that’s what this job should be about.Â
While Kinzinger says he plans to continue to speak out when he feels its necessary, he asserted its not motivated by an urge to raise his profile to run for higher office.Â
I get asked by people all the time. Are you doing this because you want to run statewide, you know, are you trying to set yourself up and the answer is no because I don’t think that’s a smart move to do if that’s what you want to do. It’s because, to me, the misinformation, the lack of common facts, where my party has been pulled to is, and you know frankly, the left as well, is massively detrimental to the future of this country, he said. Â
There is the stuff that we complain about that we’re passionate about right now, you know like, I disagree with your, whatever that is going to pale in comparison to if this whole thing falls apart, and you can’t get your blood thinner medicine.Â
And while his tweets may not be the reasoning behind his decision to buck party lines when he sees it necessary, he wouldnt rule out a bid or moving into a cabinet position if the right opportunity presented itself down the line.Â
If it was in the administration then I’d love to be secretary of Defense or of course secretary of State. I think it would be really cool because you do a lot of really neat things, he said.Â
I’d love to be president, that’s not my goal, but not because I want the power and trappings of it that you can just make an impact and I think a president sets a cultural tone and not just the issues, but just how people treat each other. Outside of that, I have no clue.
