Politics

Journalists and pundits shocked by McConnell’s break with RNC over Jan. 6: ‘Pigs just flew’

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) just stood up for newly-censured GOP Reps. (and Jan. 6 committee members) Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and Liz Cheney (Wyo.) — and jounalists and pundits on Twitter can barely believe what they’re seeing.

While speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday, McConnell broke from the language used by the Republican National Committee last week and described the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as a “violent insurrection,” The Washington Post reports.

(During the Friday vote to formally censure Kinzinger and Cheney, the RNC called the committee investigating the insurrection “a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”)

“We saw it happen,” McConnell said Tuesday, referring to Jan. 6. “It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election, from one administration to the next. That’s what it was.”

He also hit back on the RNC’s decision to go after the GOP representatives working with the Captiol riot investigation.

“Traditionally, the view of the national party committees is that we support all members of our party, regardless of their positions on some issues,” he continued. “The issue is whether or not the RNC should be sort of singling out members of our party who may have different views of the majority. That’s not the job of the RNC.”

The minority leader’s comments were immediately seized upon by reporters, who were shocked by what they were hearing.

“Pigs just flew,” said journalist Lauren Wolfe, for example.

Others, however, felt the minority leader’s simple statement not worthy of celebration, or that it was perhaps born of ulterior motives.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) just stood up for newly-censured GOP Reps. (and Jan. 6 committee members) Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and Liz Cheney (Wyo.) — and jounalists and pundits on Twitter can barely believe what they’re seeing. While speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday, McConnell broke from the language used by the…

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) just stood up for newly-censured GOP Reps. (and Jan. 6 committee members) Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and Liz Cheney (Wyo.) — and jounalists and pundits on Twitter can barely believe what they’re seeing. While speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday, McConnell broke from the language used by the…