House colleagues repudiate Rep. Tim Burchett, threaten censure over 'DEI hire' comments

U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, a Knoxville Republican, could face censure from his House colleagues after he called Vice President Kamala Harris a "DEI hire," a new report says . His GOP colleagues are joining the chorus by repudiating his comments as racist and sexist.

Politico reported Democratic Reps. Tony Cárdenas of California and Jasmine Crockett of Texas plan to introduce a censure resolution. It's essentially a condemnation of a member's behavior or speech .

On the same day this week on Capitol Hill, Burchett called presidential candidate Harris and former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle a "DEI hire."

Harris, the first woman and first person of Black and Asian heritage to occupy the office and now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. Harris served as a U.S. senator from California from 2017-2021 and the attorney general of California from 2011-2017 before she was elected vice president in 2020. Harris and President Joe Biden received more than 81.2 million votes, the highest total in American history by more than 8.6%.

“Biden said, first off, he’s going to hire a Black female for Vice President, and he just skipped over – what about white females, what about any other group? When you go down that route, you take mediocrity, and that’s what they have right now as the vice president,” Burchett told CNN’s Manu Raju July 22. “100% she was a DEI hire,” he added. “Her record is abysmal at best.”

Burchett is part of a large, bipartisan group of lawmakers who called for Cheatle's resignation, which she eventually did July 23. At a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability , Burchett implied she was only hired because she's a woman.

"Ma'am, you are a DEI horror story, " he told Cheatle, referring to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to expand opportunities for women and people of color in workplaces and create more inclusive organizational cultures.

Before Cheatle was named director, she was the senior director of global security for PepsiCo, and before joining PepsiCo, she served 27 years in the Secret Service, including as assistant director of the office of protective operations.

Burchett faced repudiation from his GOP colleagues. Here's what they had to say:

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican:

“ Her ethnicity and her gender have nothing to do with this whatsoever. This is about who can deliver for the American people and get us out of the mess that we’re in,” Johnson said at a press conference.

Former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican:

“I disagree with DEI, but she is the vice president of the United States. She is the former U.S. senator. These congressmen saying it, they are wrong in their own instincts,” he said on NBC News' "Meet the Press NOW."

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican:

“ Of course it’s not appropriate , for heaven’s sakes. What, are they just going to say if you’re not a white male, it’s a DEI candidate?” she told HuffPost July 23. “I’m sorry. No.”

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, a South Dakota Republican:

“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,” he told a local news outlet .

Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: House colleagues repudiate Rep. Tim Burchett, threaten censure over 'DEI hire' comments