Kinzinger says he’s ‘surrounded by a bunch of children’ in Congress

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said he is glad he is leaving Congress at the end of this year rather than running for reelection, pointing to Republican colleagues who criticize Disney but have “shown Putin sympathy” and calling them “children.”

“I’m glad I’m leaving here in a year because I’m just being surrounded by a bunch of children,” Kinzinger, 44, said in a video posted to Twitter on Tuesday. “I hope my party can finally remember where our foundations are and actually say that we’re not going to be Putin-sympathetic anymore. Wishful thinking.”

Kinzinger posted the video shortly after Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) announced his retirement on Tuesday. Kinzinger and Upton were two of 10 Republican members who voted to impeach former President Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“The latest outrage of the day is some woke thing on Disney or whatever it is, you know. Dr. Seuss we’ve moved on from,” Kinzinger said. “The world order is being challenged for the first time since World War II, and they’re sitting around thinking today about how we can win our next election, what the newest outrage is, what’s the next thing we can do to get people angry and upset and get their money from them for their election.”

A number of Republicans criticized Disney after the company announced opposition to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics, that was signed into law last week.

Kinzinger, who is in the Air National Guard, also bashed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for not saying or doing more about GOP members who have “shown Putin sympathy.”

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) last month called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “thug,” which McCarthy said was “wrong.” Kinzinger also mentioned Fox News host Tucker Carlson, whom Kinzinger has repeatedly criticized on Twitter for his characterization of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Kinzinger, who was first elected to Congress in the 2010 Tea Party wave, has been largely shunned by his party and Republican colleagues. He continued his vocal criticism of Trump and Trump’s supporters in the party after his impeachment vote and accepted an appointment from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to sit on the select committee formed to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Kinzinger opted to retire from Congress at the end of his term rather than seek reelection. Redistricting in Illinois combined his Chicago exurbs district with that of another Republican member.

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