Adam Kinzinger, the Republican Representative from Illinois, who has been critical of Donald Trump, announced on Friday his intentions of not seeking reelection next year.
Kinzinger is a member of the Congressional panel investigating the deadly January 6 Capitol attack by the former president’s supporters
The military veteran, who has represented his northern Illinois congressional district since 2013, was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting the insurrection at the Capitol. Kinzinger joins GOP Representative from Ohio Anthony Gonzalez as one of the 10 who have decided to bow out of Congress.
Kinzinger announced his decision in a video, saying the “time is now” to move on.
“My disappointment in the leaders that don’t lead is huge,” he said.
Kinzinger, 43, hinted at other political plans, saying: “I cannot focus on both a reelection to Congress and a broader fight nationwide. I want to make it clear — this isn’t the end of my political future, but the beginning.”
The announcement came hours after Democrats in Illinois approved new congressional district maps that put Kinzinger in the same district as GOP Rep. Darin LaHood, a strong supporter of Trump’s who said Friday he plans to seek reelection. The former president’s influence remains strong on GOP voters, and Kinzinger’s criticisms of Trump would have been difficult to overcome in a primary for a district drawn to be heavily Republican.
Trump crowed in response: “2 down, 8 to go!”
Kinzinger has been increasingly critical of his own party since January 6, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to stop Joe Biden from becoming president. Kinzinger, at the invitation of Democrats, defied his leadership to join Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming as a member of the House committee investigating the attack.
He said that the country is “poisoned” and that “we must unplug from the mistruths we’ve been fed.”
Kinzinger formed a political organization, Country First, to support candidates who oppose Trump and see him as a threat to democracy. He said on Friday that “I know I’m not alone — there are many Americans desperately searching for a better way.”
“They want solutions, not more problems. They want action, not extremism. They want light, not darkness. And the sooner we do it, the better it will be for the land that we love,” he said.
“Now is the time to put country first.”
Former Illinois Republican Party Chair Pat Brady, a Trump critic, called Kinzinger’s departure from Congress a “huge loss” for the party and voters in Illinois. He said Kinzinger is “the kind of Republican we need more of.”
(With AP inputs)