Mitch McConnell publicly condemns RNC for censure of Reps. Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger

GOP Senator and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly criticized the Republican National Committee this week for its censure of Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney over their roles on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.

In remarks on Tuesday, McConnell told reporters, “The issue is whether or not the RNC should be sort of singling out members of our party who may have different views from the majority. That’s not the job of the RNC.”

The RNC this week voted to censure Cheney and Kinzinger, writing in their resolution the RNC will immediately “cease any and all support of them as members of the Republican Party for their behavior which has been destructive to the institution of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party and our republic, and is inconsistent with the position of the Conference.”

McConnell further commented on RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel’s characterization of the Capitol attack as “legitimate political discourse” in a statement attached to the resolution. “They chose to join Nancy Pelosi in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse that had nothing to do with violence at the Capitol,” she wrote in the statement.

In response, McConnell stated, “We all were here. We saw what happened. It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election from one administration to the next.” McConnell confirmed he still supports McDaniel and the RNC in spite of the decision to censure its members.