House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday became the latest political figure to slam the Republican National Committee's censure measure against Republican Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for their participation in the panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. The RNC referred to the violent events of that day as “legitimate political discourse.”

At her weekly press conference, Pelosi said Republicans “seem to be having a limbo contest with themselves to see how low they can go.”

“They seem to have reached rock bottom with their statement that what happened on Jan. 6 was normal political discourse,” she continued, before correcting herself: “Legitimate political discourse.”

The measure to censure Cheney, R-Wyo., and Kinzinger, R-Ill., was adopted last week by voice vote at an annual meeting of the RNC.

"Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger crossed a line," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. "They chose to join Nancy Pelosi in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse that had nothing to do with violence at the Capitol.”

McDaniel has attempted to walk back the "legitimate political discourse" comment by alleging that members of the party who were not at the Capitol on Jan. 6 were being drawn into the investigation.

Pelosi said that the country “needs a strong Republican Party,” a sentiment she has expressed repeatedly since the Jan. 6 riot, which saw a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump attempting to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s win. Five people died during or immediately after the attack, including a police officer.

“Take back your party from this cult,” Pelosi urged. “Take back your party. America needs a strong Republican Party.”

Pelosi also called out House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who was seen on video Tuesday running past ABC News reporter Rachel Scott as she attempted to ask him about the RNC resolution. 

"It's disturbing to see the Republican leader of the House ran, actually literally refused to condemn that resolution of 'legitimate political discourse,'” Pelosi said. “He literally ran away from the press when he was asked about his position.”

“Republicans can run, but they cannot hide from what happened on Jan. 6,” she added. 

On Wednesday, McCarthy told reporters that the RNC has “a right to do their resolution and what they wanted” before pivoting to criticism of Democrats on economic policies.

When asked if Jan. 6 was a "violent insurrection," McCarthy replied, "Yeah, I agree. Anyone who broke into this building — I mean, no one would disagree with that."

McCarthy added that "the RNC was not referring to that" when they mentioned "legitimate political discourse," hewing closely to what McDaniel said.

Pelosi's comments come one day after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., slammed the RNC's censure measure.

"The issue is whether or not the RNC should be singling out members of our party who may have different views from the majority," McConnell said Tuesday. "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," he noted.

He also had harsh words for the RNC's description of the violent insurrection.

"We all were here," the Kentucky Republican said. "We saw what happened. 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. That’s what it was."

Trump railed against McConnell in a statement Wednesday, saying the Senate GOP leader "does not speak for the Republican Party, and does not represent the views of the vast majority of its voters."

Trump went on to espouse false claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election and blast the Biden administration on everything from rising consumer prices to the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan.

The use of the phrase "legitimate political discourse" has revealed a schism in the GOP at a time when most Republicans are calling for unity ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, when they hope to regain control of Congress.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn criticized the RNC's censure vote by saying "that was not a unifying action," and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who has been critical of the RNC's actions since last week, said it "could not have been a more inappropriate message."

"Anything that my party does that comes across as being stupid is not going to help us," Romney said, telling reporters he texted McDaniel, his niece, to discuss the measure.

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one of the few Republicans who voted to convict Trump for his role in the riot, said that the censure vote was “absolutely wrong.”

“When the party is taking an approach or saying things that I think are just absolutely wrong, I think it is my responsibility as an Alaskan senator speaking out for Alaskans to just speak the truth,” Murkowski said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said the people who "broke windows and breached the Capitol were not engaged in legitimate political discourse, and to say otherwise is absurd."

"Every moment that is spent relitigating a lost election or defending those who have been convicted of criminal behavior moves us further away from the goal of victory this fall," Collins added of Republicans' chances in the 2022 midterms.