Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who represented Illinois as a Republican from 2011 to 2023, said last week that he would accept a cabinet position if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the White House.
Kinzinger noted to Deadline that he would “certainly” serve if Harris asked him. The remark came as he promoted a documentary at the Toronto Film Festival about his opposition to former President Donald Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
“There’s no greater honor than serving in an administration. And obviously, I’ve supported Kamala, I’m endorsing her,” Kinzinger said before Deadline added that he also spoke at the Democratic National Convention.
The former congressman at times supported cutting taxes during his congressional terms but said in the Deadline interview he doesn’t care what the rates or “other policies” are.
To me, it’s the preservation of democracy and good governance. That’s what I care about,” Kinzinger said.
Kinzinger often sided with Republicans on votes before opposing objections in 2021 to the electoral counts for Pennsylvania and Arizona, two states that President Joe Biden won in the 2020 election.
“To me, you know, one of the things that’s interesting is when I had the job of a congressman, obviously, you have to vote on these issues. And so, you have partisan viewpoints and stuff because you have to,” Kinzinger said. “Like now, my only thing that I’m concerned about is the preservation of democracy.”
Kinzinger has criticized Trump since the former president urged his supporters to protest the certification of the 2020 election results. The former congressman in his interview referred to Trump as a “cancer” in the Republican Party, adding that Harris’ supporters should be “careful” when analyzing her chances at winning.
“It’s literally a coin toss. I think, you know, if you asked me two months ago, unfortunately, I would have said 90% chance it’s Donald Trump,” he said. “I think it’s a coin toss. I would, if I had to bet all my money on one side, agonistically I would say it’s gonna be Kamala. And I think that would obviously be great for the country.”