He says he's a moderate Republican, and the party is on a 'slide to authoritarianism'

Adam Kinzinger delivers remarks during the fifth hearing by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack, in June 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images

Adam Kinzinger delivers remarks during the fifth hearing by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack, in June 2022.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Adam Kinzinger describes himself as a Republican moderate; something he says is a dying breed in American politics.

Who is he? A former Illinois congressman, Kinzinger served from 2011 until finishing his term at the beginning of this year.

• He is well known for his opposition to parts of his own party in the later years of his political career — especially in the wake of the Jan. 6 attacks on the Capitol.
• Kinzinger and former Wyoming Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney were the only two Republicans to serve on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack.  
• He was also one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump in 2021, and later announced that he would not seek reelection

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On former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's ousting:

I think that writing was on the wall. I don't know if I expected it to happen this quickly, or maybe even went longer than I expected. 

But when you cut a deal with what I think [former speaker John] Boehner aptly called the "terrorist caucus" and you start cutting deals that make it where they hold you hostage, and then you come up against real deadlines like a debt limit, like government shutdowns, I think it was inevitable.

So I guess I was surprised that the vote for McCarthy went into like a million rounds. But yeah, I was not surprised he was ousted. And frankly, I think it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

On the difficulty of the job and the concept of "selling your soul:"

Look, I don't think it's worth it if you're going to sell your soul, because not only is selling your soul miserable, but the process of selling your soul in this is miserable. 

And I don't know why you do it, except that there is an identity. Being a member of Congress is a powerful feeling. You're the center of attention anywhere you walk into except the White House.

And I think that's addictive to people. But I will say to anybody out there considering running, public service is still very honorable. And we need good people in public service to change this view.

But what we need are people that understand that your job isn't just to go stick your finger in the wind and figure out which way it's blowing. Your job is to actually go defend the Constitution of the United States, which is why we take an oath to it. And I think if we get more people like that in politics, I think the job would be worth it. And frankly, the job would be honorable again.