Will County Gazette

The Will County Republican Party moved to censure Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) last week after consulting with respective members.

“What brought this about is Rep. Kinzinger’s push to impeach former President Trump as well as he started a political action committee to raise funds to go after fellow Republican congressmen and congresswomen such as Florida’s Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Mary Miller here in Illinois,” George Pearson, chairman of the Will County Republican Central Committee, told the Will County Gazette.

Kinzinger, from Illinois' 16th Congressional District, was one of 10 GOP House members who voted to impeach Trump but the Senate failed to convict the former president.

Will County Republican Party Central Committee Chairman George Pearson | George Pearson

The censure vote against Kinzinger passed 111-5 on Feb. 18 with one abstention, according to a news release.

“The danger is Rep. Kinzinger will weaken Republicans across the nation that he's going after,” Pearson told the Will County Gazette. “The message he is sending is that he will not spend money going after Democrats but he's willing to spend money to destroy Republicans. If we don't have Republicans in Congress, we can't fight against issues such as red flag gun laws, which is something Kinzinger supports.”

Red flag gun laws will allow courts to order police to seize firearms temporarily from people who may be a danger to themselves or others, according to the New York Times.

“A censure is a formal letter saying that we are displeased, do not agree with the conduct and want it to stop,” Pearson said in an interview. “However, in our censure letter we added that because Kinzinger has escalated his efforts from Trump to Republican Congress members who are Trump supporters, we will work hard against him in the primaries if he continues.”

The Huffington Post reported that Kinzinger launched the anti-Trump Country First political action committee (PAC) in order to restore the Republican Party’s moral authority.

“As an elected official who serves part of Will County, Adam Kinzinger is a member of the GOP leadership he is criticizing,” Pearson said. “He’s been missing since 2016. He hasn't walked in to any of our meetings. He isn’t involved to contribute to its competence or moral authority.”