A Republican primary challenger to anti-Trump Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., was recently spotted at Mar-a-Lago, as former President Donald Trump appears to be moving forward with a plan to oust GOP opponents in Congress.
Politico’s Tara Palmeri reported in Friday's edition of Playbook that Catalina Lauf, a former Trump administration appointee who's running against Kinzinger to be his district's 2022 nominee, was seen at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday. Politico did not report whether or not Lauf met with Trump during her visit.
Trump named Kinzinger during his Sunday speech at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference as one of many House Republicans he claimed would not fight against the slim Democrat majority.
Kinzinger, who was censured in Illinois and slammed by family members for his January vote to impeach Trump in connection with the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol protest, called Trump's CPAC speech "boring."
Lauf said in a February video announcing her campaign: "I never thought I'd primary a fellow Republican, but is Congressman Kinzinger really a Republican anymore? He isn't and we have the proof."
She went on to attack Kinzinger as a "weak-kneed, establishment Republican" who "cares more about his next MSNBC appearance than the voters who elected him."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.