Republicans continue to butt heads with each other as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell disagrees with the Republican National Committee's (RNC) decision to censure GOP Sens. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.
The situation comes after the RNC unanimously voted to censure the two Republican officials for their involvement in the House Select Committee. They argued that the panel was unjustly persecuting innocent Americans during its investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot.
McConnell vs McCarthy
The RNC also called the events of the insurrection "legitimate political discourse," much to the dismay of many GOP members. McConnell's latest remarks add support to a small but forceful voice of Republican lawmakers in decrying the rebuke of Cheney and Kinzinger.
McConnell added by saying that he had seen what happened on that unprecedented day, calling it a violent insurrection. He argued that a mob of loyal supporters of former United States President Donald Trump besieged the Capitol building in an attempt to prevent Joe Biden's certification.
Many Republicans have criticized the RNC after the decision was made, calling the vote a political distraction and a shame on the party. In a statement, McConnell told reporters that the national party committee's traditional view was to support its members regardless of position on some issues, the New York Times reported.
McConnell noted that the RNC should not be singling out members of the party for having different views from the majority, arguing it was not the committee's job. But the Senate minority leader said that he still had faith in RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel.
On the other hand, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy supported the RNC's stance of legitimate political discourse. He claimed that the use of legitimate political discourse was referring to the House Select Committee's subpoenas to RNC officials who were in Florida at the time of the Capitol siege.
CNN reported that in an interview, McCarthy said that people who were violent and caused injury or damage at the time were in the wrong. He added that those people, who were part of the chaotic mob that stormed the Capitol building, should be put in jail.
Republicans Split Over RNC
McCarthy was followed down the hallway while being asked about his stance regarding the decision of the RNC. The official did not detail who the subpoenaed lawmakers in Florida were at the time of the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot.
The issue is in connection to a slate of false presidential electors that tried to overturn the 2020 elections and give former President Trump the win over Biden. The fake electors were not sanctioned or signed by any government body, such as a governor. They did not have legal authority whatsoever during the joint session of Congress in counting electoral votes.
The House Select Committee has subpoenaed 14 individuals who signed their names to fake slates of electors to vote for Trump. They placed themselves under the positions of "chairperson" or "secretary." The Republican Party organization's chair or vice-chair signed the false electoral slates in all seven states, according to Business Insider.
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