Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R- Ill, announced on Friday that he will not seek reelection in the 2022 midterms. Kinzinger is one of just two Republicans on the Jan. 6 Committee.

Kinzinger, 43, who was first elected in 2010, announced his decision to leave Congress in January 2023 in a video. He said he was fueled by his supporters telling him to be his "own man" and added that he remembers “during that campaign saying that if I ever thought it was time to move on from Congress, I would. And that time is now.”

The Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran expressed his disappointment in “leaders that don’t lead” and hinted at his future political ambitions, saying, “I cannot focus on both reelection to Congress and a broader fight nationwide. I want to make it clear — this isn’t the end of my political future, but the beginning.”

Kinzinger is a longtime critic of former President Donald Trump and one of 10 House Republicans to vote for his impeachment following the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill. He previously noted it would have been a tough road ahead in the 2022 midterms due to redistricting.

Kinzinger told the Chicago Sun Times in April that “getting drawn out of a district and you have no opportunity to run again for the House and you want to stay involved, yeah, it makes, it makes frankly looking at the Senate or the governor a little more attractive, I guess.”

Time will tell, but Kinzinger could be a formidable challenger to Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker running as an anti-Trump Republican in a deep blue state. In the meantime, Kinzinger is expected to work for the political action committee Country First.

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