Kinzinger first GOP member in Congress to call for Matt Gaetz to resign

Congressman Adam Kinzinger has shown since November’s election he’s not afraid to be the first member of his party to speak out against it when he believes there’s wrongdoing.

The Channahon Republican did so again, calling for his congressional colleague Matt Gaetz, of Florida, to resign.

Kinzinger did so Thursday night on Twitter, sharing a Daily Beast article online with allegations against Gaetz, who is involved in a federal investigation into sex trafficking. Gaetz has denied allegations he paid for sex.

Kinzinger was the first Republican to call for former President Donald Trump’s removal from office via the 25th Amendment after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He voted for Trump’s impeachment, called on his party to accept November’s election results, voted to remove U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from committees and started a PAC encouraging the GOP to move away from Trump’s politics.

Kinzinger has been censured by the La Salle, Will and Iroquois counties’ Republican committees, while Grundy County voted not to censure him. Time magazine named Kinzinger to its 2021 Time100 Next list of emerging leaders.

On Tuesday, Kinzinger quoted a tweet from Women for America First defending Gaetz: “Our politics are broken. With such an accusation out there, I can’t believe this is real, but then again, I’m not surprised,” Kinzinger wrote.

CNN reports few Republican colleagues are speaking out on Gaetz’s behalf, and most Republicans have been keeping quiet, as the federal investigation hangs over his head.