Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said on Sunday that former Vice President Pence is trying to please supporters and opponents of former President Trump after Pence said Congress “has no right” to his testimony about the Capitol attack.
“Look, it’s really disappointing,” Kinzinger, a member of the House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
“I think Mike Pence is trying to please two different groups: he’s trying to please those that are concerned with [former President] Trump, and those that really liked Donald Trump,” Kinzinger added. “And here’s something I’ve learned Jake, in kind of the last five years, you can’t please them both. You really just have to pick, you have to be committed to whatever you believe truth is, and pick that side.”
Pence in recent days has sat down for a variety of interviews with national outlets to promote his new book, which also comes as anticipation grows that he may mount a 2024 presidential bid challenging Trump. Pence has said there will be “better choices” than Trump for the nomination.
The former vice president has repeatedly indicated he expressed disagreements with Trump privately during the administration, except for Jan. 6.
Pence in an interview with CBS that aired in full on Sunday closed the door to testifying before the House panel, arguing doing so would set a bad precedent given constitutional separation of powers.
“I fully believe in the separation of powers,” Kinzinger, a Trump critic who did not run for reeleection, responded on CNN. “But that was violated on Jan. 6, when the former president launched a mob into the legislative chambers, violated that separation of power. And of course, we have oversight responsibility. We’re not subservient to the president in the Congress. We are a co-equal branch.”
With the GOP set to take control of the House in January, the panel is preparing to wrap up its work after a series of public hearings and interviews with hundreds of witnesses.
Lawmakers are now working to prepare the panel’s report and offer legislative recommendations for how to prevent future insurrection attempts.