Rep. Kinzinger says he regrets voting against first impeachment of Trump

Outgoing Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said Friday that his “biggest regret” during his time in Congress was voting against the first impeachment of former President Trump.

Kinzinger made the remark in a series of tweets on Friday night, emphasizing that politicians need to be “transparent” and “admit regret.”

“The bottom line, Donald Trump withheld lethal aid to Ukraine so he could use it as leverage for his campaign,” The Illinois lawmaker tweeted. “This is a shameful and illegal act, directly hurting the Ukraine defense today.”

Trump was impeached by the House but cleared by the Senate of two charges, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress and also in connection to his alleged attempts to get Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election, Insider previously reported.

Kinzinger called on Americans to focus on putting the interests of the nation above allegiance to a single political party.

“I wish I could go back in time and Vote for [Trump’s impeachment], but I cannot. What we can do now is to ensure that this NEVER happens again, and that we all put the interests of our nation above our party.”

Kinzinger, who announced that he will not be seeking reelection in the House, has been a vocal critic of Trump. The Illinois Republican serves on the House committee investigating the events of the January 6th insurrection with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY).