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Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images

Rep. Adam Kinzinger criticized his party in an MSNBC interview on Friday.

"We have a truth crisis in this party," he said.

Kinzinger is an outspoken critic of Trump and one of two Republicans serving on the January 6 committee.

GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois on Friday fiercely criticized his own party, telling MSNBC in an interview that Republicans need to return to the truth.

Kinzinger said the GOP is unrecognizable today because "what has changed is the use of conspiracy" and "the absolute lack of courage to call it out."

"It's sad because the Republican Party will exist," he said. "But it has lost, in a lot of people's minds, any credibility. And it's going to take a while to get it back."

"We have a truth crisis in this party," Kinzinger continued. "You can have different opinions. But you can't have a different truth."

The lawmaker also described "the fear" that's spread among Republican leaders "against a man that is basically insane sending out press releases from Mar-a-Lago," referring to former President Donald Trump.

Unlike many members of his party, Kinzinger has often publicly rebuked Trump and rose to prominence as a vocal critic of the former president, which he has faced backlash over.

Kinzinger also commented on the lies spread about the 2020 presidential election, which lead to Trump supporters violently storming the Capitol on January 6 last year.

"When you undermine [the voting process] through lies to people, violence is not a surprise," he said.

Kinzinger's remarks on Friday come as the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection digs into what happened in the leadup to and during the riot. Kinzinger and Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming are the only Republicans serving on the congressional panel. Several Republican figures, including Trump, have mocked the committee and its probe.

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In his MSNBC interview, the congressman also touched on this year's midterm elections with Republicans vying to take control of Congress.

"You have to tell people the truth. And right now, everybody's got their hand in the sand because they want to win reelection. What's winning reelection honestly worth if you can't actually do your job of telling people the truth, or you're ashamed to look yourself in the mirror?"

Kinzinger announced last year that he will not seek reelection.

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GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger says Republicans have a 'truth crisis' and 'got their head in the sand because they want to win reelection' - Yahoo News

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthyKevin McCarthyMcCaul tests positive for COVID-19 in latest congressional breakthrough Ex-McCarthy staffer: GOP leader's strategy dictated by 'most extreme' wings of party Pelosi leads moment of silence for Jan. 6 with no Republicans except Cheneys MORE (R-Calif.) will most likely be nominated and elected Speaker of the House a year from now when Congress convenes in January of 2023.

Here are ten things he should start promising that he will do when he takes the gavel from House Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiWoman at Jan. 6 Capitol attack involved in fatal car crash Pelosi invites Biden to give State of the Union address on March 1 No, Jan. 6 wasn't worse than 9/11, nor is democracy at risk: Here's why MORE (D-Calif.).

First, he should insist on regular order.Doing things procedurally correct wont exactly light a fire under the GOP base, but voters instinctively understand that things have gone seriously off kilter during the reign of Pelosi.Do a real budget, devolve power back to the committees, pass the appropriations bills on time, go to real conferences with the Senate.Allow members to do their jobs and represent their constituents.

Second, he should end proxy voting.Both Democrats and Republicans have made use of this device that allows members to give their voting cards to other members while they sit at home and do who knows what.Members of Congress are paid to do their jobs by the taxpayers and they need to show up to do those jobs.

Third, he should immediately open the House buildings and the Capitol back to visitors and those who want to petition their government, as protected under the Constitution.The fact that members have been allowed to retreat behind the walls of Congress and keep the American people largely on the outside looking in is an embarrassment to this country.

Fourth, he should promise the Democrats that they can put whatever members from their caucus on whatever committees they want.He should make clear that what Nancy Pelosi did in kicking off members of the Republican Conference from committees was an outrageous abuse of power that had no precedent in House history and will not be replicated as long as Republicans are in power.There is no need to make a martyr out of Rep. Ilhan OmarIlhan OmarThe Memo: Threats to democracy are stark one year after Jan. 6 Feehery: What House Republicans should promise when they take over The 9 politicians who had the most impact in 2021 MORE (D-Minn.). Let her serve on whatever committee Rep. Hakeem JeffriesHakeem Sekou JeffriesFeehery: What House Republicans should promise when they take over House clears bill to raise debt limit House votes to hold defiant Meadows in criminal contempt MORE (D-N.Y.) deems appropriate.

Fifth, he should immediately launch a special committee to find out what the hell happened with our response to the COVID-19. Why has America done substantially worse than just about any other country?Why dont hospitals still have the capacity they need and still dont any good treatment protocols?What kind of propaganda campaign was launched by the Chinese communists?Why were voices of those who raised real questions about the strategic direction silenced?

Sixth, he should promise to pay the fines of those who broke autocratic rules of Nancy Pelosi, including those who refused to wear masks on the House floor and those members who refused to go through metal detectors.

Seventh, he should have the Judiciary Committee investigate what exactly happened with the violent protests of 2020, who funded those protests, how George Soros paid for the elections of prosecutors who refused to prosecute violent offenders, and how that led to the murders of the thousands of innocent civilians.

Eight, he should promise to hold Big Tech to account for stifling free speech.He should work with Democrats to find legislative solutions to break their monopoly power.He should launch an investigation into the fact-checking operations of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.What conflicts of interest were present that compelled these companies to create narratives that led to more panic and less reasoned debate when it came to our COVID-19 response?Why did Twitter ban Alex Berenson and Donald TrumpDonald TrumpRon Johnson to run for reelection: reports On the Money US reports meager job growth to finish 2021 Jan. 6 chair says panel will move this month to ask Pence to testify MORE?

Ninth, he should have the Budget Committee and the Appropriations Committee launch a join investigation into what happened with all the money that was shoveled out the door in 2021. How much money was lost through fraud?How much money has been left unspent?How much did the states waste because they didnt know what to do with it? I betcha we will find that the federal government under the Biden administration wasted hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money.

Finally, the Speaker should launch a task force, led by the Education and Labor Committee, to find out what exactly has gone wrong with our public school system.While much of this should be done at the state and local levels, the fact is that the National Education Association has an outsized influence in education policy and that influence has proven to be destructive to hopes and dreams of many young children.

Feehery is a partner at EFB Advocacy and blogs atwww.thefeeherytheory.com. He served as spokesman to former House SpeakerDennis HastertJohn (Dennis) Dennis HastertFeehery: What House Republicans should promise when they take over Democrats mull hardball tactics to leapfrog parliamentarian on immigration Feehery: A better than even shot of flipping a Texas district MORE(R-Ill.), as communications director to former House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas), and as a speechwriter to former House Minority Leader Bob Michel (R-Ill.).

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Feehery: What House Republicans should promise when they take over | TheHill - The Hill

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is leading an effort in the Senate to peel back the filibuster after fiercely defending the 60-vote rule as a way to bring "balance" to the upper chamber.

Schumer in 2003 when the Senate had a very narrow GOP majority gave a spirited defense of Democrats using the filibuster on President George W. Bush's judicial nominees. He made the case that since Bush didn't win in a landslide, the actions of the Senate should reflect the ideological middle of the country.

"The bottom line is this. We are defending the Constitution, we are saying there should be some balance," Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a 2003 floor speech. "President Bush didnt win by a landslide. This Senate is not 62 to 38, or 70 to 30. This country is narrowly divided, and that means when laws are made they move to the middle."

He criticized the Republicans for trying to bend the rules to get the result they want. Schumer said the minority party's role in filibustering is nothing new, but "whats new is the view on the other side that if they dont get their whole way they want to change the rules."

CHUCK SCHUMER ON THE FILIBUSTER IN 2017: IF YOU CAN'T GET 60 VOTES, 'YOU SHOULDN'T CHANGE THE RULES'

His comments came as Senate Republicans were frustrated with Democrats for filibustering Bush's judicial nominees.

"What my colleagues have done is taken the result they want and then come up with an argument that all of a sudden filibusters are bad," Schumer said.

It's the latest example of Schumer's defense of the filibuster when Democrats were in the minority and wanted to stall the GOP agenda and judicial appointments.

Schumer fought hard against Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell's decision to roll back the filibuster to approve President Trump's Supreme Court nominees, saying at the time if a "nominee doesn't get 60 votes, you shouldn't change the rules- you should change the nominee," Schumer told NBC's Chuck Todd at the time.

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SCHUMER TARGETS FILIBUSTER REFORM TO PASS VOTING RIGHTS LEGISLATION

Also in 2017, Schumer took to the Senate floor to say there should be a "firewall" around the legislative filibuster.

"Let us go no further down this road," Schumer said. "I hope the Republican Leader and I can, in the coming months, find a way to build a firewall around the legislative filibuster, which is the most important distinction between the Senate and the House."

Now, however, Schumer is leading a charge in the Senate to take a vote on rolling back the legislative filibuster by Jan. 17 the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday. Schumer wants a carve out to the filibuster to pass voting rights reforms by a simple majority that would set national standards for running elections.

Republicans are squarely against changing the rules for voting reforms they view as radical and a federal overreach.

MCCONNELL SLAMS SENATE DEMOCRATS FOR INVOKING JAN 6 TO PUSH FILIBUSTER CHANGES: 'SURREAL'

"The so-called voting rights acts they are pushing are a liberal Democrat federal takeover of our election systems which constitutionally reside with the states," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on Twitter Thursday.

Schumer's office pointed to an interview he gave Monday with MSNBC's Joy Reid to explain his evolving opinion on the filibuster.

"Even a paragon who believed in the Senate rules, Robert C. Byrd, changed the rules nine times and he said, and I think I have his quote pretty accurately here, When circumstances change, the rules have to change,'" Schumer told the ReidOut.

"Well, let me tell you something: circumstances have changed dramatically with Donald Trump, the Big Lie, the violence of January 6th and all the efforts to take away voting rights," Schumer continued, referring to Trump's repeated false claims that he won the 2020 election instead of President Biden.

And last year, Schumer said Democrats were justified in using the filibuster against Trump's agenda and argued what Republicans are doing now with stalling President Biden's agenda is different.

"The big difference is that we were always willing to negotiate in a bipartisan way," Schumer told reporters at a press conference in March 2021. "Mitch McConnell isnt. The bills he puts on the floor, even when he calls them bipartisan, arent."

Fox News' Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

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Flashback: Schumer slammed Republicans for attempting to change the rules on the filibuster in 2003 - Yahoo News

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Being our semi-regular weekly survey of whats goin down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin gets done and where everybody knows shes the brains behind Paw.

We begin in Florida, which is unfair to the other 49 states and all the territories that never can erase the long lead Florida has in crazoid political events, but here we are. At issue is the erratic public schedule of Governor Ron DeSantis, on whom Politico called a putt a little too early. First, DeSantis simply vanished for a couple of weeks at the end of the year. The governors office said he was taking time off to tend to his wife, who recently was diagnosed with breast cancer. OK, so we give him the benefit of the doubt there. That he withdrew from the public eye just as the Omicron surge was breaking over the state is his own tough luck, since he has made a political meal out of defying all reasonable public-health precautions dealing with the pandemic, even the ones dedicated to handling the most recent variant. This week, after emerging from whatever seclusion he was in, DeSantis held a press conference in which he was clearly laboring to speak and breathe at the same time. This led to all kinds of speculation, as you can imagine, as Floridas tally of COVID cases left the stratosphere. In any case, the presidential timber talk has settled down for a while.

We move along to Wisconsin, where they are still futzing around with the 2020 presidential election and theres no end in sight. The investigation by former state supreme court judge Michael Gableman was supposed to be over by now, but, as we know from Benghazi, Benghazi, BENGHAZI!, as well as from dozens of other examples, when American conservatives get their teeth into something like this, theres no prying them loose. Gablemans work has been so slipshod that even David Clarke, the maniac former Milwaukee sheriff, has pronounced himself disgusted by it, and State Senator Kathy Bernier, a Republican, called it a "charade." Gableman responded by telling Bernier she should resign. It should be noted that Clarkes major complaint is that Robin Vos, the speaker of the Wisconsin state assembly, is a very incompetent ratfcker. To be fair, Clarkes not entirely wrong. From CBS58:

Oh, OK. Lord, this state is a mess.

Andy ManisGetty Images

But, if they really want to look for election irregularities, they should look south toyes, Florida. Every presidential cycle, we all visit The Villages, a sprawling retiree community that dominates a certain slice of that state not far from Orlando. Sometimes, the folks entertain us with golf cart parades. But they are also enthusiastic, allegedly, about voter fraud. From News6 in Orlando:

And we conclude, as is our custom, in the great state of Oklahoma. Blog Official Transient Friedman of the Plains is off on his annual gig in the Bahamas, to the bafflement of the venerable Jack, but he is closely monitoring developments back home, and sends us yet another tale of the long reach of the Big Lie. From Public Radio Tulsa:

This brother is a real prize. Again, from PRT:

Here at the shebeen, we periodically plead with our fellow citizens: Look, vote for conservatives if you must, but for the love of speed-skating Christ, stop voting for morons. Thank you.

This is your democracy, America. Cherish it.

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Multiple Registered Republicans in The Villages, Florida Accused of Voter Fraud - Esquire

Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan said on Sunday said the GOP has "no alternative" to supporting former president Donald Trump.

Meijer made the remarks on NBC's Meet the Press with Chuck Todd when asked about why and how Trump has maintained a grip on the party despite being openly condemned by many Republicans following the January 6 insurrection.

"There was no alternative. There was no other path. And given how President Biden, when he was elected into office, you know, said he would be moderate and look for bipartisan solutions. But then after, and frankly, I blame the former president for this, after we lost the two senate seats in Georgia and the Senate flipped, it became an exercise in trying to be an LBJ or FDR style presidency and enact transformational change in the absence of any compelling mandate from the American people to do so," Meijer said.

"So that gave the rallying signal. That created a very steep divide, and at the end of the day, there's no other option right now in the Republican Party, and that's a sad testament," Meijer added.

Todd pushed back when Meijer blamed the divide on Biden, asking why it isn't up to Meijer himself, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, or Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to "kick their Trump habit."

"If you have one party plummeting into the depths and the other just uses that as an excuse to go further, to go more to an extreme, to go more away from any sort of governing consensus, and towards trying to enact whatever the will of the most extreme constituency they have is, that is a recipe for both parties to drive further away from anything that resembles serving the American people as a whole," Meijer responded.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack on the Capitol, Republicans like McConnell and Sen. Lindsay Graham distanced themselves from Trump. On the Senate floor following the attack, Graham said, "Enough is enough."

Since then, Graham has changed his tune, saying that GOP leaders must have a relationship with the former president to be effective.

Trump has teased at a 2024 presidential run but has not committed yet. He plans on giving a speech on the anniversary of January 6 of this year from Mar-A-Lago.

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GOP rep says there's no other option right now to Republicans backing Trump - Business Insider