Washington Mitch McConnell on Tuesday said it wasn’t the role of the Republican National Committee to penalize GOP members who break with party orthodoxy, following the committee’s formal rebuke of two House members over their role in the investigation of the Jan. 6 riot.

The RNC voted on Friday to censure Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger and “immediately cease any and all support of them” for their participation in the committee investigating the attack.

Without citing either of the House members’ names, McConnell said, “The issue is whether or not the RNC should be sort of singling out members of our party who may have different views from the majority. That’s not the job of the RNC.”

“Traditionally the view of the national party committees is that we support all members of our party, regardless of their positions on some issues,” the Senate GOP leader added.

It was a typically tempered response by McConnell, who stopped short of expressing outright support for Cheney and Kinzinger, who find themselves in the cross-hairs of former President Donald Trump and his allies. While Kinzinger is choosing to retire this year, Cheney is pursuing re-election against a Trump-backed challenger, Harriet Hageman.

The issue has split Republicans, some of whom worry that internal party divisions could endanger their ability to retake both chambers of Congress later this year.

McConnell said he has confidence in RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, a Trump ally who spearheaded the censure effort. But in another breath, the Kentuckian restated his belief that the 2020 election was legitimate and the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was “a violent insurrection.”

“It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election from one administration to the next,” McConnell said.

The RNC resolution described the events of Jan. 6 as “legitimate political discourse,” a characterization that alienated even many Republicans.

McConnell has consistently sought to tread lightly around the aftermath of Jan. 6 for the past 13 months.

While he tagged Trump as “morally responsible” for the events, he voted to acquit him in his second impeachment trial. Though he opposed a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack, he later expressed interest in the House-led probe, saying, “We’re all watching, as you are, what is unfolding on the House side, and it will be interesting to reveal all of the participants who were involved.”

Early last year, when Cheney was on the verge of losing her leadership role in the House GOP caucus because she voted for Trump’s impeachment, McConnell went out of his way to defend her.

“Liz Cheney is a leader with deep convictions and the courage to act on them, McConnell told CNN.”She is an important leader in our party and in our nation. I am grateful for her service and look forward to continuing to work with her on the crucial issues facing our nation.”

But on Tuesday, a year later, he did not go out of his way to echo those thoughts, focusing more on the RNC than Cheney, currently one of the most polarizing figures in GOP politics.

For McConnell, keeping his eye on a successful November midterm election remains his North Star.

“Let’s keep our eye on the ball,” McConnell said. “I’m highly optimistic that we’re going to have a very good year this fall.”