“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,” Kinzinger said.
Kinzinger left the door open to running for different political offices in the future in the video.
“I cannot focus on both a reelection to Congress and a broader fight nationwide. I want to make it clear. This isn’t the end of my political future, but the beginning,” he said. “Serving six terms in Congress has been an honor of a lifetime.”
He is the 10th House Republican to announce their intention to leave the House at the end of the term, compared to 14 Democrats in the chamber.
Announcement calls out ‘heavily rooted’ divisions
In his announcement video, Kinzinger also suggested the political environment — without saying Republicans or Trump — has “allowed leaders to reach the power selling the false premise that strength comes from degrading others and dehumanizing those that look, act or think differently than we do.”
He added: “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 mistruth we’ve been fed.”
He also said that because of this, he doesn’t plan to try to “focus” on that and running for reelection.
“In Congress, I’ve witnessed our division is heavily rooted. There’s little to no desire to bridge our differences and unity is no longer a word we use,” he said in the video. “It has also become increasingly obvious to me that in order to break the narrative, I cannot focus on both a reelection to Congress and a broader fight nationwide.”
Role on January 6 committee
The Illinois Republican has starkly defied his party’s leadership by not only validating and participating in the committee’s work but in calling for a complete investigation into the January 6 insurrection.
Setting himself up as a foil to Trump and Republican leadership, Kinzinger started a new PAC to push back on the Republican Party’s embrace of Trump.
“The Republican Party has lost its way. If we are to lead again, we need to muster the courage to remember who we are,” Kinzinger said back in January when announcing the new venture.
GOP colleague reaction
His House colleagues are already feeling the shock of his announcement moments after his tweet. Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois told CNN’s Erica Hill it was a “surprise” to hear he wasn’t running for reelection.
“It’s a surprise to me. Look, I’ve worked well with Adam during our times in Congress. When Democrats ask Republicans to speak truth to power, you know, if we ask them to do that and they do that with some courage, I think we owe it to them to give them the recognition. So, you know, that’s a shame,” he said on CNN.
“I’m going to miss Mr. Kinzinger in Congress,” he added. “And I hope he continues in public life with the kinds of things he’s doing, addressing the concerns we had with the Trump administration.”
This story has been updated with additional developments Friday.
CNN’s Ethan Cohen contributed to this report.
Read More:Adam Kinzinger, outspoken GOP Trump critic, won’t seek reelection for US House seat
2021-10-29 17:29:00