Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty

U.S. Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) delivers remarks during the last meeting of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol in the Canon House Office Building on Capitol Hill on December 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. The committee is expected to approve its final report and vote on referring charges to the Justice Department.

Newly retired Rep.Adam Kinzingerhas joined the CNN team as a senior political commentator,the network announced this week.

Kinzinger, 44, earned widespread recognition as one of only two Republicans on the Jan. 6 House committee that investigated the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. (The other was Wyoming Rep.Liz Cheney, who wasvoted out of officefor taking onDonald Trump.)

CNN’s latest hire comes just a few months after the network’s new president, Chris Licht, stated that he would like more varied viewpoints andwider political coverage.

Speaking with CNBC in Octoberabout trying to restore the brand’s image, Licht said “the analogy I love to use is some people like rain, some people don’t like rain. We should give space to that. But we will not have someone who comes on and says it’s not raining,” Licht said of his opposition to any form of disinformation brought to the network, which recentlylaid off hundreds of employees.

“Happy to join the team@CNN!” he wrote on hisTwitter pageWednesday.

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., is seen outside the U.S. Capitol after the House voted to pass the Right To Contraception Act on Thursday, July 22, 2021.

After his recent retirement, Kinzinger shut down talk of a run for president in 2024, though he said it “would be fun” to go against Trump.

“People love it because it’s entertaining but eventually, people have a concern for their country,” Kinzinger added of the controversial former president, whom he begrudgingly voted for in 2020.

“It’s not something I can square away in my soul fully,” Kinzinger toldThe Washington Postlast July. The Kankakee, Illinois, native was one of10 Republicans in the House of Representativesto vote toimpeach Trumpfor “incitement of insurrection"in the wake of the U.S. Capitol riot.

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The House select committee’s final meeting.Lo Scalzo Jim/Pool/ABACA/Shutterstock

The House select committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol holds their final meeting to vote on criminal referrals against former President Donald Trump in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC

“I hold nothing against them, but I have zero desire or feel the need to reach out and repair that,” Kinzinger told the paper. “That is 100 percent on them to reach out and repair, and quite honestly, I don’t care if they do or not.”

He continued: “The party’s sick right now. It’s one thing if the party was accepting of different views, but it’s become this massive litmus test on everything.”

Kinzingerhas blamed Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthyfor helping keep Trump relevant politically, and has voiced his “disappointment” in McCarthy’s leadership in the Republican party,The Hillreported.

Prior to entering politics, Kinzinger served in the Air Force,two tours in Iraqand currently remains in the Air National Guard.

Upon announcing his retirement in Oct. 2021 after six terms in Congress, the Illinois representative expressed his commitment to spreading truth in the United States.

“My passion for this country has only grown,” he saidvia Twitter video. “My desire to make a difference is bigger than it’s ever been. My disappointment in the leaders that don’t lead is huge. The battlefield must be broader, and the truth needs to reach the American people across the whole country.”

source: people.com