House GOP leaders urge members: Stop making race comments about Harris

Leadership warned lawmakers during a closed-door meeting to focus on the vice president’s record, not her race.

House Republican leaders told lawmakers to focus on criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris' record without reference to her race and gender, following caustic remarks from some Republicans attacking her on the basis of identity.

During a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning, chair of the House GOP campaign arm Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) and others issued the warning after a series of comments by their members that focused on Harris’ race as well as claims she is a “DEI” pick, according to two people in the room.

In the 48 hours since President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, Republican leaders have tried to train their criticism of the presumptive Democratic nominee on her handling of the border and her plan to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress.

But several Republicans immediately took the criticism in a different direction. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said Monday that Harris was a “DEI vice president” and Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) over the weekend questioned if Democrats are sticking by her “because of her ethnic background.” If nominated, Harris would be the first Black and South Asian woman to be a major party nominee.

“This should not be about personalities. It should be about policy. And we have a record to compare,” Speaker Mike Johnson told POLITICO as he left the Tuesday meeting, saying Harris would have to answer for Biden’s record. “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.”

The remarks about Harris’ race have privately infuriated some Republicans, who feel it shifts the spotlight back on the GOP instead of Democrats’ missteps.

One House Republican, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said Republicans who made comments about Harris being a DEI pick, which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion, needed to stop.

“We have everything going our way and you just can’t handle that?” this member added. “We’ll give you a cheat sheet if you don't know what else to talk about.”

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), who chairs the governing-minded Main Street Caucus, said Republicans “should run this campaign based on the fact that she hasn't done a very good job” rather than “make allegations.”

And the right flank is facing additional pushback from their Republican colleagues beyond the race comments. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced a second impeachment resolution against Harris on Tuesday, according to a copy of the measure obtained by POLITICO, an effort some of his colleagues have already panned. His first attempt to impeach Harris last year stalled in the Judiciary Committee.

Additionally, conservatives have argued the House GOP should investigate Harris and pressure Cabinet officials to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Biden. Most Republicans have brushed off those pushes as well, instead gearing up to hammer Harris on the border and other policies.

“I see no more reason for investigations to start in the House if they're going to be politically weaponized. I believe that her record is his record, and we should focus on that,” said Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), a former aide in Donald Trump’s administration.

Republicans are also more openly admitting that their long-stalled endeavor to impeach Biden is likely dead. Miller said it’s time to move on.

“I think that we can redirect our resources elsewhere into something that will be more fruitful. If we had anything to level against him, it already would have been exposed and we would have impeached him. That obviously hasn't happened,” he added.

House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who has led the Biden impeachment push, told POLITICO that while he is probing questions about Biden’s mental health — focusing on the White House physician and three White House staffers — that he has no plans to subpoena Harris or ask her to appear in front of his panel.

“No,” Comer said when asked whether there is a potential probe into Harris.

He added that his part of the impeachment inquiry into Biden, which has largely focused on the business deals of his family members, is over. And that he is done drafting his part of an impeachment report that his panel is working on with the Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees.

“I feel like we’ve done our job. … Our part of the report has been finished for a long time. They can publish it or not — I guess things change if he’s not running again,” Comer said.

The sentiment that it’s time to move on from impeachment was echoed across many corners of the conference. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who filed articles of impeachment against Biden, agreed that push should be on the backburner given his decision to drop out.

“I think Republicans’ best strategy is introducing Kamala Harris to the world,” she said, essentially backing GOP leaders’ messaging plan.

Dusty Johnson, asked about impeaching or investigating Harris, responded that “we’ve got appropriations we need to take care of.” Republicans appear poised to leave town as soon as Wednesday with much of that work unfinished, meaning they’ll return from August recess without much done on government spending ahead of a Sept. 30 shutdown deadline.

Not everyone is fully on board the plan to focus on Harris and legislative needs, however. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the Freedom Caucus, and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) have introduced separate resolutions that call on Harris to invoke her 25th Amendment powers and essentially have the Cabinet declare Biden unfit to be president. Those resolutions have three and zero co-sponsors, respectively, and likely don’t have the support required to pass the House.

Asked about invoking a resolution backing the 25th Amendment, centrist Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said that “it’s not going to pass” and added of impeaching Biden “there’s not the support to do it — that’s just reality.” Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) added that resolutions to push the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment are “not an effective path right now.”

House GOP leaders are instead considering a border-related resolution led by Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), which aims to condemn Harris’ efforts to address the record surge of border crossings under the Biden administration. That vote could occur as early as Wednesday, and is expected to draw more support than the 25th Amendment approach, particularly in the GOP’s paper-thin majority.

House GOP leadership, during a press conference after their closed-door meeting, repeatedly linked Harris to Biden, in a likely preview of the next few months.

“She's still the sitting vice president, but she's also been the architect of many of President Biden's worst failures,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) told reporters.

Those criticisms extend not only to the border, but also to the Israel-Hamas war. Republicans are particularly critical of Harris over her decision to skip Netanyahu’s joint address because of plans her office said she had on the books before the speech was scheduled.

“To not attend is very disrespectful to our ally and will alienate many Americans. It is a grave mistake to not attend,” said Bacon, a vulnerable member who pointed to Israeli hostages who still remain in captivity.

“Not attending is a slap in the face to all these families,” he added.