RNC looks to censure GOP US Reps. Adam Kinzinger, Liz Cheney

The Republican National Committee is expected to vote Friday on whether to censure U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney for their disloyalty to former President Donald Trump but not seek to expel them from the party.

A resolution passed through a subcommittee Thursday following hours of talk over language that initially would have called on the House Republican Conference to oust Kinzinger (R-Channahon) and Cheney (R-Wyoming), the only Republicans on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. The censure resolution is expected to be voted on by all 168 Republican National Committee members at their winter meeting in Salt Lake City.

The resolution would mean the RNC will cease any and all support of them as members of the Republican Party.

“We want to send a message that we’re disapproving of their conduct. It’s a middle ground,” RNC member Harmeet Dhillon said in an Associated Press report, noting the vote was unanimous.

“This is not about being anti-Trump. There are many anti-Trump Republicans that are not included in this resolution. These two took a specific action to defy party leadership,” she added.

Kinzinger, who had already announced he was not seeking another term in Congress, said before the vote he was unfazed by the resolution and already felt like an outcast in his party.

“I’m not going lose any sleep over it,” he said in an Associated Press report. “Ultimately, if this does come to fruition, I think all that does is shows more about them than us. It shows that Trump and Trumpism has overtaken the RNC.”

In a statement released Thursday night, Kinzinger said he’s been a member of the Republican Party before Donald Trump. Kinzinger was first elected to Congress in 2010.

“My values and core beliefs remain the same and have not wavered,” he said. “I’m a conservative who believes in truth, freedom, and upholding the Constitution of the United States.”

“Rather than focus their efforts on how to help the American people, my fellow Republicans have chosen to censure two lifelong members of their party for simply upholding their oaths of office,” Kinzinger said in his Thursday statement. “They’ve allowed conspiracies and toxic tribalism hinder their ability see clear-eyed.”

The resolution to expel Cheney and Kinzinger was spearheaded by David Bossie, a Maryland committee member who previously served as a Trump campaign adviser, and Frank Eathorne, chair of Wyoming’s Republican Party. Eathorne declined to comment on the revised resolution after its passage.

The initial draft, obtained by The Associated Press, had accused Cheney and Kinzinger of serving as “pawns to parrot Democrat talking points” on the Jan. 6 House committee and chided them for deposing their colleagues and “pursuing what amounts to a third political impeachment of President Trump.”

“The Conference must not be sabotaged by Rep. Liz Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger who have demonstrated, with actions and words, that they support Democrat efforts to destroy President Trump more than they support winning back a Republican majority in 2023,” it said.

Kinzinger has already been censured by the county Republican parties within his district, including La Salle, Will and Iroquois counties.

The effort to censure Cheney and Kinzinger comes as party officials juggle preparation for this year’s midterm elections, when control of Congress and 36 governorships are at stake, with planning for the 2024 presidential election. In Salt Lake City this week, they’ve discussed where to host their 2024 party convention and whether to compel their candidates not to participate in presidential debates, a cause important to Trump.

Not every RNC member was supportive of the initial draft resolution for expulsion, according to The Associated Press.

“It’s distracting from what should be our main objective: winning back the House and the Senate. We should be focused on taking on Democrats and not each other. This is not time well spent,” Bill Palatucci, a committeeman from New Jersey, said of the effort to punish Cheney and Kinzinger.

The RNC has no formal power over the party’s congressional members, so how much weight a resolution to expel them from the House Republican Conference would have carried in Congress if passed is unclear.

Kinzinger said he won’t be deterred from his effort, which has been focused on the Country First PAC he started, which seeks to move conservatives from Trump’s politics.

“My efforts will continue to be focused on standing up for truth and working to fight the political matrix that’s led us to the this point,” Kinzinger said.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.