Kinzinger Reacts To McCarthy Calling Him a ‘Pelosi Republican’

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) says it is “childish” for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to call him names after he accepted an appointment to the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The Illinois Republican was asked on Monday to respond to McCarthy’s comment, he said, “It’s childish. We’re doing big things right now. We’re getting to the answers of the worst attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812. He can call me whatever names he wants.”

“The bottom line I’m an elected member of Congress. I’m a Republican. 👤Kevin McCarthy is technically my Republican leader, and to call members of Congress by childish names like Donald Trump used to do, I guess, is just kinda par for the course,” he added.

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Earlier this month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) named Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) to the committee, and on Sunday, she named Kinzinger to the panel, as IJR reported.

Cheney and Kinzinger have both been vocal critics of former President Donald Trump, and both voted to impeach him on the charge of “incitement of insurrection” earlier this year.

Pelosi’s announcement comes after House Republicans withdrew their five picks to be appointed to the committee after she rejected two of them.

Last week, McCarthy said that he had chosen five Republicans, including Reps. Jim Banks (Ind.), Jim Jordan (Ohio), Rodney Davis (Ill.), Kelly Armstrong (N.D.), and Troy Nehls (Texas).

However, Pelosi made news when she took the unusual step of rejecting two of the picks, Jordan and Banks. In a statement, she said she spoke to McCarthy “about the objections raised about Representatives Jim Banks and Jim Jordan and the impact their appointments may have on the integrity of the investigation.”

In response to the House speaker’s move, McCarthy announced that he would withdraw his suggestion for the remaining three lawmakers. He also said Republicans would conduct their own investigation of the violence of the riot.

On Monday morning, McCarthy mocked Cheney and Kinzinger as he asked, “Aren’t they kinda like Pelosi Republicans?”

Cheney also responded to the minority leader’s comments as she said, “I think that’s pretty childish.”