DEI attacks on Harris “stupid”

Vice President Kamala Harris stands with then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Tuesday that the claim that Vice President Harris was hired as part of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives was “stupid.”

“I would say two attacks that I’ve heard from Republicans that are completely stupid and asinine are the DEI attack, OK?” McCarthy said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press NOW.”

“The other attack I would not make is to say the president must resign,” he added. “That would be an advantage for Kamala.”

Harris is likely to replace President Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket after the incumbent announced his withdrawal from the race over the weekend. If elected in November, she would make history again as the first woman and person of South Asian descent to hold the nation’s highest office.

The vice president has already received the support of leading Democratic lawmakers, governors, local officials and Biden.

“This DEI, that seems petty…look, I don’t agree with DEI, but she’s the vice president of the United States, she’s the former U.S. senator,” McCarthy said. “These congresswomen who say that are wrong on their own case.”

DEI programs often aim to promote fairness and equality in institutions and combat historical injustices related to racism, homophobia, and sexism.

Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee has attacked Harris as a “DEI employee,” calling her “our DEI vice president” in a post on social platform X earlier this week.

“The level of incompetence in Washington is at an all-time high,” Burchett wrote. “The media propped up this president, lied to the American people for three years, and then dumped him for our DEI vice president.”

Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman (Wis.) made similar comments. to local media that Democrats will support her because they “feel like they have to stick with her because of her race.”

DEI programs have faced resistance from the right: Current Republican vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance introduced a bill in June to ban the initiative and block funding for the programs.

“The DEI agenda is a destructive ideology that fuels hatred and racial division,” Vance said at the time. “It has no place in our federal government or anywhere else in our society. I am proud to introduce this legislation that would eradicate DEI from our federal bureaucracy by eliminating such programs and eliminating funding for DEI policies wherever they exist.”