The Illinois Republican, who has been an outspoken and frequent critic of former President Trump, told CNN anchor Anderson Cooper that he doesn’t “trust anything Kevin McCarthy says.” “I mean, look, I don’t trust anything Kevin McCarthy says, I’ll be honest with you,” Kinzinger said, according to CNN footage on Mediaite. The comment by Kinzinger, one of two Republicans serving on the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 riot, comes hours after McCarthy told reporters during a news conference that he did not recall speaking with Hutchinson on the 6 January about the possibility Trump comes to Capitol Hill during the election certification process. “If I spoke to her, I don’t remember. If he was coming here, I don’t think I wanted a lot of people coming to the Capitol. But I don’t remember the conversation,” McCarthy said. He said he remembered talking with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, Trump and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner that day. Kinzinger claimed McCarthy is “joining the insurgents” because he is vying for the president’s gavel if Republicans win the House in the 2022 midterm elections. “About a year or two ago, he made the decision that his only goal was to become Speaker of the House. And he’s going to do what he has to do and he believes that siding with the insurgents is the way to get there,” Kinzinger said. Kinzinger said Hutchinson was “extremely credible” during her sworn testimony at the hearing. “The idea that he would just make this story up and make it up is ridiculous,” he said, criticizing figures who have denied parts of Hutchinson’s testimony. Hutchinson was a star at the committee’s Jan. 6 public hearings, which sought to demonstrate Trump’s role in the day’s events. Chris Cuomo defends media amid racial politics, calls for end to two-party system New York governor declares state disaster over monkeypox outbreak The former Trump aide shared, among other things, that former president and then-chief of staff Mark Meadows knew those attending the Ellipse rally had guns. Hutchinson testified that she spoke with McCarthy during the riots about the prospect of Trump going to Capitol Hill. The Hill has reached out to McCarthy for comment.