Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of two GOP House members on the January 6 committee investigating the Capitol riot, said on Friday that he will step down from Congress at the end of his term.
Kinzinger, 43, announced his retirement in a video posted on Twitter where he champions the vote to impeach Trump and says the country has been 'poisoned' by 'mistruths'
'It's also become increasingly obvious to me that in order to break the narrative, I cannot focus on both a re-election to Congress and a broader fight nationwide,' he said in the message.
Former President Donald Trump celebrated the news in a brief emailed statement, writing: '2 down, 8 to go!'
The lawmaker has been a vocal critic of Trump and was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him after the Capitol riot.
Kinzinger, an Iraq war veteran, has represented Illinois' 16th District since 2013. Before that he was in Congress for the state's 11th district.
Throughout the five-minute video he criticized the ex-president for the division he's caused without ever mentioning Trump by name.
Kinzinger and Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming are working with the majority-Democrat committee investigating the Capitol riot, which has led to a barrage of criticism from their own party.
Kinzinger released a five-minute video on Twitter explaining why he is retiring from Congress
Kinzinger has also been facing potential redistricting issues as Illinois is poised to lose a House seat after the 2020 census.
On Friday he decried the state of politics in America today, claiming that 'you must belong to a tribe' to have a political future.
'Our political parties only survive by appealing to the most motivated and the most extreme elements within it,' he said in an apparent reference to the violent Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol.
'The price tag to power has skyrocketed, and fear and distrust has served as an effective strategy to meet that cost.'
He warned, 'Dehumanizing each other has become the norm.'
Kinzinger then took a shot at Trump more directly, saying, 'We've allowed leaders to reach power selling the false premise that strength comes from degrading others.'
'As a country, we've fallen for those lies and now we face a poisoned country filled with outrage blinding our ability to achieve real strength. It has become increasingly obvious to me that as a country, we must unplug from the mistruths we've been fed,' he said.
Kinzinger greets a US Capitol Police officer who was about to testify in front of the January 6 committee
Kinzinger and Rep. Liz Cheney are one of two Republicans helping Democrats investigate the Capitol riot
In his outgoing message Kinzinger said that he ran for office because of his 'conviction of our role in the world.'
'I also remember during that campaign saying that if I ever thought it was time to move on from Congress, I would. And that time is now. But let me be clear, my passion for this country has only grown. My desire to make a difference is bigger than it's ever been,' he said.
'My disappointment in the leaders that don't lead is huge.'
After serving in Congress for more than a decade, the lawmaker said he saw 'little to no desire to bridge our differences.'
Kinzinger said his departure after 2022 'isn't the end of my political future, but the beginning.'
He lauded the nine other lawmakers who voted to impeach Trump - and appeared to drop a hint as to why else he's retiring.
'I stand in awe at the courage of the other nine members in the House who voted to impeach a president of their own party, knowing it could be detrimental to their political career,' Kinzinger said.
Throughout the entire message Kinzinger doesn't mention Trump by name, though he decries the division he's sown (pictured at his Jan. 6 Stop the Steal rally)
Kinzinger lamented that in today's politics, 'parties only survive by appealing to the most motivated and the most extreme elements within it'
The video also promoted his political action committee, Country First, which Kinzinger founded to compete with Trump's grip on the GOP.
The group's website claims to want 'to help viable candidates at the local, state, and federal levels who have the courage to put country before party, and are willing to boldly lead us toward better, healthier politics.'
But it appears Trump's outsized influence is at least part of the reason for Kinzinger's departure.
Another House lawmaker who voted for Trump's impeachment, Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, announced his retirement earlier this year after being confronted with a primary challenge from former Trump aide Max Miller.
Others who also voted to hold the former president accountable have also suffered political repercussions.
Cheney, once the third-highest ranking Republican in the House, was booted from her leadership role and replaced with a staunch Trump ally, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York.
Kinzinger had defended Cheney at the time, claiming she was being 'chased out' not 'for going after the president' but instead for her 'consistency.'
He was referencing Cheney's enduring outrage at the ex-president for his actions on January 6 and peddling election fraud theories, compared to other Republican leaders who initially condemned Trump but have since walked those comments back.
Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina recently revealed he was left out of a state Republican Committee event that's scheduled for his own district.
Kinzinger and Cheney have been two of the most vocal Trump critics out of the group, especially after Speaker Nancy Pelosi named them to the January 6 panel.
Former White House aide Alyssa Farah disputed that Kinzinger's retirement was a 'scalp' won by Trump, despite the ex-president's gleeful reaction, and attributed it to Illinois' redistricting instead.
'Few things,' she wrote on Twitter. '1) @RepKinzinger isn’t a scalp 4 Trump, Dems are drawing out his district.'
'2) The GOP is strengthened, not weakened, when we have members who are willing to challenge Party orthodoxy -especially when it’s wrong.'
Farah ended with a third point wishing him well, adding 'He's a good man & leader.'
Rumors of a potential gubernatorial bid are likely to gain new steam after Kinzinger's announced retirement.
The moderate Republican would be a more viable candidate in a blue state like Illinois, where Democratic Governor JB Pritzker has been lauded for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, over a Trump-backed right winger.
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