McConnell and other GOP senators criticize RNC for censuring Cheney and Kinzinger
Washington — Daylight has emerged this week between Senate Republicans and the Republican National Committee (RNC) after its members approved a resolution censuring GOP Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois for their work on the House panel investigating the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol and declared the actions of the rioters "legitimate political discourse."
A number of GOP senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have rebuked the national party over the resolution, which was overwhelmingly approved Friday, and said Republicans' focus should be on defeating Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections rather than attacking and alienating members of their own party.
"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. That's what it was," McConnell said Tuesday of the January 6 attack.
The issue regarding the RNC-passed resolution, he continued, is whether the national party committee should be "singling out members of our party who may have different views from the majority. That's not the job of the RNC."
"The purpose of a political party, whether it's Republican or Democrat, is to bring in as many members as you can," Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa told reporters Tuesday. "I like to think of the Republican Party as being a big-tent party, everybody is welcome, and I like to think of us as candidates but also our party concentrating on what we can do for 2022, taking over control of the Congress."
Senator Susan Collins of Maine said Monday evening that Republicans began 2022 with a "decided advantage" on issues that will be crucial to the outcome of the November elections.
But, she warned, "every moment that is spent relitigating a lost election or defending those who have been convicted of criminal behavior moves us further away from the goal of victory this fall."
The censure resolution called on the RNC to "immediately cease any and all support" of Cheney and Kinzinger as members of the GOP and claimed their conduct "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."
The resolution also admonished the pair for "participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse," a characterization of the events of January 6 that was chided by GOP senators.
"It could not have been a more inappropriate message," Senator Mitt Romney of Utah told reporters Monday. "One, to sanction two people of character as they did. But number two, to suggest that a violent attack on the seat of democracy is legitimate political discourse is so far from accurate."
Romney said he exchanged text messages with RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who is his niece, about the resolution and expressed his "point of view."
On the impact the measure could have on Republicans' success in November's elections, Romney said, "Anything that my party does that comes across as being stupid is not going to help us."
Looking ahead to GOP's efforts to regain majorities in the House and Senate, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis said voters are concerned about the economy and COVID-19, and want their elected officials to be focused on the future.
He also rejected the notion that those who descended upon the Capitol and breached the building, temporarily halting the Congress's counting of state electoral votes, were "engaged in legitimate political discourse."
"The minute you entered the Capitol building, it was no longer discourse, it was riot," Tillis said Tuesday. "And people that crossed that line — no question in my mind there were people on the lawn that came there to voice their opinion. They went home peacefully. Anyone who entered the Capitol complex, it's no different than entering a home or business, they need to be held accountable for what they did. That's not discourse."
Some House Republicans leaders, though, were less critical of the RNC for the resolution.
"The RNC has every right to take any action," said Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York, who replaced Cheney as GOP conference chair. "And the position that I have is that you're ultimately held accountable to voters in your district, voters who you represent. And we're going to hear the feedback and the views of voters pretty quickly here this year."
Stefanik said Republicans "condemn the violence on January 6."
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise told CBS News that those who broke into the Capitol should face consequences for their actions, but drew a distinction between those who entered the building and those who remained outside.
"There were people who were outside, for example, that were just expressing their views in a nonviolent way," he told CBS News' congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane. "Once you cross the line and broke into the Capitol, it's a whole different story."
Anyone who breached the building on January 6, he said, "needs to be dealt with my law enforcement."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also chastised the party for its resolution, telling reporters that "Republicans seem to be having a limbo contest with themselves to see how long they can go." The GOP, she said during a press conference Wednesday, hit "rock bottom" with its measure declaring the January 6 assault "legitimate political discourse."
"The country needs a strong Republican Party. They've made great contributions to our country," the California Democrat said. "I say this to Republicans all the time: Take back your party from this cult. Take back your party. America needs a strong Republican Party and a strong Democratic Party, but it has been hijacked."
House Republicans ousted Cheney from her post as conference chair last year after she voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 assault. She and Kinzinger were selected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve on the select committee examining the attack and events surrounding it in July, after which a group of conservative lawmakers called for Cheney and Kinzinger to be removed from the Republican conference for accepting the appointments.