Utah Rep. Burgess Owens said Vice President Kamala Harris is “the greatest example of DEI,” prompting a top Republican to tell lawmakers not to attack the presumptive Democratic nominee over her race and gender.
Owens, one of four Black Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, made the comments to Punchbowl News earlier this week, using an acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion — a framework that has grown in popularity in recent years to promote hiring of traditionally underrepresented groups.
"For those who believe in DEI, this is exactly what DEI is like. Kamala Harris," Owens continued.
Owens wasn't the only Republican to use that line of attack against Harris — who is the first Black and South Asian woman to serve as vice president — since she emerged as a frontrunner for the Democratic presidential ticket following President Joe Biden's decision to drop his reelection bid.
Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett called Harris a "DEI hire" and Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wisconsin, said Democrats "have to stick with her because of her ethnic background."
The comments prompted top Republicans to call on GOP lawmakers to only attack Harris on her record and avoid referencing her race and gender. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, the chairman of the House GOP campaign organization, told members in a closed-door meeting Tuesday to refrain from such attacks.
"This should not be about personalities. It should be about policy. And we have a record to compare," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, told Politico following that meeting. "This has nothing to do with race. It has to do with the competence of the person running for president, the relative strength of the two candidates and what ideas they have on how to solve America's problems. And I think in that comparison, we'll win in a landslide."
Many Republicans scrambled to attack Harris in the hours following Biden's withdrawal from the race, with some insinuating that Harris tried to cover up the president's apparent decline. Utah Sen. Mike Lee on Thursday said Harris was a "complete failure" in her role addressing the root causes of migration to the U.S. southern border.
"In spring of 2021, Vice President Kamala Harris was tasked with finding solutions to the border crisis," Lee said. "Her status as 'border czar' was widely reported upon at the time. Now that her complete failure is inconvenient for Democrats, they try to erase history. Don't let them."
Owens pivoted to a similar line of attack in a social media post Thursday, saying her "failed policies are to blame for the nearly 10 million illegal immigrant encounters — including terrorists — at the U.S. border since 2021."
"Harris didn't address the 'root causes' of illegal immigration; instead, she helped this administration turn every community into a border community," he added.
In response to a request for comment, Owens' office pointed to a House resolution approved Thursday criticizing Harris' handling of the border. The resolution passed 220-196, with six Democrats voting in favor. It cites the ending of the Trump-era "remain in Mexico" policy for asylum seekers and criticizes Harris for waiting "93 days" before visiting the border after being made "border czar."
Harris was tapped to head up diplomatic efforts with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in 2021 to address the causes of migration from those countries, and White House officials at the time tried to differentiate her immigration mission from border security, NBC News reported.
The Biden administration has appeared to acknowledge border security as a potential political liability recently. Biden issued an executive order in June restricting the number of migrants who can apply for asylum protection, and was supportive of a bipartisan bill earlier this year that would have added detention beds, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and deportation flights along with foreign aid for Ukraine.
Lee was key in killing support for what he called a “crap-sandwich of a border bill,” after former President Donald Trump called on GOP lawmakers to reject the bipartisan proposal. Trump sees immigration as a winning message for his presidential campaign and promises to “seal the border and stop the migrant invasion” if elected.