Leaders of the House Republican caucus scolded members on Tuesday after several representatives went off-script to attack Vice President Kamala Harris on the basis of her race and gender, according to multiple reports.
Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), the chair of House National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC), was one of the leaders who led the closed-door meeting, during which he and others said that attacks on Harris should instead focus on her political record.
He suggested that members avoid phrases such as “DEI pick,” a reference to “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs meant to imply that Harris has only risen to her current level of success due to her race or gender.
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“This should not be about personalities. It should be about policy. And we have a record to compare,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told Politico following the Tuesday meeting.
A number of congresspeople have made similar attacks in recent days, including many during televised interviews.
Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) caught flak on Sunday for saying “a lot of Democrats feel they have to stick with her because of her ethnic background.”
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) also said during an interview that Harris is “intellectually, just really kind of the bottom of the barrel,” adding that she thinks the vice president “was a DEI hire.”
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) also made a similar comment on Monday, telling CNN political reporter Manu Raju that Harris was a “DEI vice president”—and that President Joe Biden had “skipped over” others when he selected her as his running mate. “What about white females? What about any other group?” he added.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Raju pressed Johnson on what he thought of Burchett’s comments.
“This is not personal with regard to Kamala Harris and her ethnicity or her gender have nothing to do with this whatsoever,” he replied.
