Politics & Government

Ex-Congressman Adam Kinzinger Takes Job With CNN

Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois native, was first elected to Congress in 2010 in the Tea Party wave — he had Sarah Palin's endorsement.

John Ferak's profile picture
John Ferak, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
|
An outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump, Adam Kinzinger found himself out of favor in the Republican Party. Now, he's going to work for CNN.
An outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump, Adam Kinzinger found himself out of favor in the Republican Party. Now, he's going to work for CNN. (Image via Congressional Office of Adam Kinzinger)

CHANNAHON, IL — Now that his days in Congress are over, Channahon Republican Adam Kinzinger is taking a new job working for CNN, he proudly announced Wednesday on his Twitter account.

"Join us in welcoming Adam Kinzinger to CNN as a Senior Political Commentator. Welcome to CNN, Adam!" CNN announced on Twitter.

"Happy to join the team CNN!" Kinzinger wrote back.

Find out what's happening in Channahon-Minookafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Kinzinger made his first official appearance as an employee of the network — where he's been featured numerous times — Wednesday on "Erin Burnett OutFront," telling the host, "it's great to be on the team ... I'm excited."

With 729,000 followers and growing, Kinzinger's Twitter profile notes he's a husband, dad, pilot, lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, CNN senior political commentator, former Congressman, and founder of Country First, which Kinzinger describes as "A movement for those who feel politically homeless in the failed politics of today and want to bring truth and accountability back to government."

Find out what's happening in Channahon-Minookafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

In October 2021, the Republican Congressional representative from Illinois, a critic of Donald Trump who is one of two Republicans on the panel investigating the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol attack, announced he would not seek reelection in 2022.

The military veteran, who won a long-shot suburban congressional district a decade ago, became one of a handful of Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on the charge of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

Related Patch coverage of Adam Kinzinger:

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Channahon-Minooka