NC’s Rep. Ted Budd: Jan. 6 committee is in the way of ‘freedom-loving Americans’
U.S. Rep. Ted Budd called his House colleagues Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger “divisive” Wednesday and said their work on the Jan. 6 committee is getting in the way of “freedom-loving Americans.”
His comments came during a segment on a conservative talk radio show about whether President Joe Biden is using a back-door plan to influence elections.
Budd is currently seeking North Carolina’s open U.S. Senate seat in the 2022 election and is facing off against former Gov. Pat McCrory, former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker and political newcomer Marjorie Eastman. Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Budd.
All four have said they do not support the violence that occurred when a mob of pro-Trump supporters stormed into the Capitol.
But they don’t all agree with what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said about Jan. 6, which Budd was asked about on Wednesday.
During the interview, radio host Lars Larson asked for Budd’s response to McConnell saying that Jan. 6, 2021, was “a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent a peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election from one administration to the next.”
Budd asked Larson for the context behind McConnell statements. He was told reporters had asked McConnell about a decision the Republican National Committee made last week to censure both Cheney and Kinzinger.
Budd replied, “Well, I’ll tell you what, Liz (Cheney) and Adam Kinzinger have really been so divisive, you know, with this false moralism. They are trying to, you know, save something that didn’t need to be saved. It’s a false narrative.”
Cheney and Kinzinger are two of nine members of the Jan. 6 committee investigating the insurrection that ultimately resulted in seven deaths and numerous injuries. The other seven members are Democrats.
“They played right into the Democrats’ trap, and has made it tougher on freedom-loving Republicans, than if they had just stayed away from (House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi’s highly partisan, highly selfish trap,” Budd added.
In a statement, McCrory said he viewed Budd’s comments about the censure as a means to sidestep Larson’s question about Jan. 6.
“It’s time for him to answer tough questions, as I have, and as serious candidates for U.S. Senate do,” McCrory told The News & Observer in a written statement Friday.
Jan. 6 committee
The Jan. 6 committee is investigating who was involved and what happened at the U.S. Capitol on that day in 2021.
Walker said he doesn’t agree with McConnell’s assessment, adding: “I don’t mind telling you that.” Walker said he also found it interesting that McCrory released a video Thursday aligning himself with McConnell.
“I want to compliment Mitch McConnell,” McCrory said in the video. “He was right to call out our own party leaders for not being clear and concise about what we mean by ‘legitimate political discourse.’”
Republican leadership used the phrase “legitimate political discourse” to characterize the insurrection in its censure of Cheney and Kinzinger. The phrase has created discourse within the party.
McCrory said all acts of violence and destruction need to be called out.
Walker and Eastman agreed that violence has no place in protesting.
“There is a very clear line between protests and criminal activity,” Eastman said in a written statement to The N&O. “I am fully supportive of our First Amendment but if you crossed the line, assaulted police officers, attempted to prevent the business of Congress, and caused damage to our Capitol building, then you broke the law.”
Election certification
The insurrectionists, who threatened members of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, forced elected officials into hiding until police could clear the building.
When members of Congress returned to the House chamber that same night, Budd was among the 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the election that confirmed that Biden had won the presidency.
McCrory has repeatedly said he would certify Biden’s election. Walker said Friday he would like to believe he would have, too.
“I would have wanted to,” Walker said, adding that he doesn’t know what information was available and why some members believed they could overturn the election.
“It was hard because of things happening in real time,” Walker said. “We had Mike Pence being told that he had the authority to do that, find out that might not be the case. I think a lot of the former vice president, but it would have been a game-time decision.”
Walker’s answer about certifying Biden’s results is likely the first time he and Budd have diverged on a political issue. The two candidates are known for being so similar both in demographics and in political ideologies that up until this point, the only thing that has set them apart was Trump’s endorsement of Budd.
Censure
Senate candidates also had differing opinions when it comes to the censuring of Kinzinger and Cheney.
“I’ve been clear that Leader McConnell did the right thing by standing up to the RNC and condemning political violence,” McCrory wrote to The N&O Friday. “Why is Congressman Budd refusing to support Mitch McConnell for leader?”
McCrory added that Budd is out of touch with voters.
Jonathan Felts, senior advisor for Budd’s campaign, disagreed with McCrory.
“Governor Pat McCrory might support Speaker Nancy Pelosi getting to hand-select which Republicans can and can’t serve on congressional committees, but Ted Budd does not,” Felts said. “Speaker Pelosi made it clear that her Jan. 6 committee is a sham and a partisan witch hunt when she kicked the conservative Republicans off of the committee.”
Walker agreed with Budd that the committee is a sham.
McCrory has also repeatedly said throughout his campaign that he does not agree with the committee’s makeup.
This story was originally published February 12, 2022 at 7:30 AM.
