Former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of 10 Republican House members to vote for President Donald Trump’s impeachment in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection, would “certainly” be open to serving in Kamala Harris’ cabinet should she win in November, he told The Times on Sunday.
“I love defense. I love foreign policy. And I think that’s where she’s frankly shown she’s a little more hawkish than Democrats have been, so that would be a good area to bring a standard Republican in,” Kinzinger said in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, where his new documentary, “The Last Republican,” had its world premiere on Saturday. “I want her to win. I want her to succeed. The most important issue that this country is facing, which doesn’t get enough attention to me, is Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against a Russian invasion. She’s the best counter for that, and I would love to help her in any way achieve that goal.”
Kinzinger’s name was among those floated by political observers after Vice President Harris, in a recent interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, said that she would nominate a Republican to her cabinet if elected.
In the interview Kinzinger, who spoke on Harris’ behalf at the Democratic National Convention last month, also weighed in on which Republican officials he’d like to see endorse the Democratic ticket. Former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, last week joined the growing list of Republicans to throw their support behind Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“We’re not going to get 20% of Republicans. If we can cross 5% to even 10%, this can guarantee a Harris victory, because it’s going to be this close,” he said, explaining why he thinks such cross-partisan endorsements are so important. “So I think the ones that have yet to speak out are, people like Mark Esper, who was the Defense secretary. Really anybody in Donald Trump’s cabinet. Almost none of his former cabinet members have endorsed him, which is incredible. I really would like to see [former Vice President] Mike Pence take the step of saying, ‘I’m not going to write somebody in.’ I mean, it is your right as an American to write somebody in. If you literally can’t stomach Harris, fine. write somebody in and don’t vote for Trump. But let’s be realistic here. You really have two choices for president. I’d love to see General [John F.] Kelly, [former White House chief of staff]; H.R. McMaster, [former national security advisor]; [and other] people in the national security establishment that know the damage that Donald Trump could do. They need to warn fellow Republicans, because there’s still a lot of Republicans that care about national security.”
Kinzinger also noted that he wishes George W. Bush would speak out, though he acknowledged that Bush’s office has said neither the former president nor former First Lady Laura Bush plan to make an endorsement in the 2024 election.
As to the prospect of a contested election or Trump victory, Kinzinger expressed deep concern. Although he said he does not fear another insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, he does worry about the intense pressure on Republicans at the state level to decline to certify an outcome in Harris’ favor — and the presence of militias who could overrun state houses that have “1/500th the security” of Congress.
Kinzinger added that he doesn’t believe Trumpism can survive another Trump term.
“No president comes out more popular,” he said. “It’ll burn itself out, because they’ll have the instruments of power, they’ll fail to do what he promised, and everybody will kind of get worn out. But the question is, what damage is done over that four years?”
Watch the rest of The Times’ interview with Kinzinger and “The Last Republican” director Steve Pink here.
