Republican leaders warn against DEI attacks on Harris

Republicans are warning their colleagues to back off using diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) politics to attack Indian American Vice President Kamala Harris as she launches her presidential bid after President Joe Biden quit the race, according to a media report.

The Republican Party has had to quickly revamp its attacks in the days since President Biden withdrew from the 2024 race and Democrats coalesced around Harris as his replacement — and some members have taken swipes over her race and gender in arguing she is unqualified, the Hill noted.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) called Harris a “DEI hire.” Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) similarly told local media that Democrats will elevate her to replace Biden as their nominee because they “feel they have to stick with her because of her ethnic background.”

READ: Kamala Harris wins enough delegates to win Democratic nod (July 23, 2024)

Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, would mark a number of historic firsts if she ascended to the presidency. And DEI initiatives have become a punching bag for Republicans, who have spent the past year seeking to undo equity and diversity efforts across the federal government, according to the political news site.

But the Republican Party this cycle has been aggressive in courting Black voters, and women are a key constituency, which means insinuating Harris was only elevated because of her race or gender risks backfiring, the Hill suggested.

Republican leaders are urging members to stick to policy arguments, not personal or demographic ones.

“This election … is going to be about policies, not personalities. This isn’t personal with regard to Kamala Harris,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a press conference Tuesday. “Her ethnicity, her gender, has nothing to do with this whatsoever.”

Whitley Yates, director of diversity and engagement for the Indiana Republican Party, said Republicans should “absolutely” be concerned about labeling Harris as a DEI president

“These terrible detrimental things, it will drive people away,” Yates told The Hill, pointing to Trump’s efforts to reach Black voters.

In fact, Yates said, Republicans need to avoid identity politics all together if they want to build a more diverse coalition.

“I think we need to get completely off of race and gender, and they need to focus on what policies are [they] going to have,” Yates was quoted as saying. “We don’t have time to focus on those social issues.”

Other Republicans echoed the sentiment that the focus should be on policy, noting Harris was put in her job by the voters.

“I think rather than make allegations that, in fact, are allegations against the voters for what their motivation was, I just think we should run this campaign based on the fact that she’s not been very good at her job,” Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) was quoted as saying.

Democrats are pushing back hard on the comments, according to the Hill.

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) said in a press conference Tuesday that the DEI comments about Harris are “disgusting and offensive,” saying she is “the most prepared and qualified person.” Harris was also a prosecutor, a senator and California’s attorney general, she noted to the Hill.

“They’re not only attacks on her,” Horsford said in a press conference. “When they have attacks on DEI, they’re attacks on you and I. We are a multiracial, multigenerational society — this is what Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans don’t want to accept. We’re not going back to the days that we’re not counted as full citizens.”