Rep. Dave Min (D-CA) said Thursday that Republican lawmakers are leaning on culture-war talking points to avoid discussing the economy ahead of the midterms, singling out debates over DEI, transgender athletes, and Michigan gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed as examples of political distraction.
Appearing on CNN News Central, Min told co-host Kate Bolduan that Republicans “are looking for distractions. So, they’re talking a lot about DEI. They’re talking about Abdul El-Sayed or whatever his name is. They’re talking about trans people.”
The exchange followed reporting that Vice President JD Vance had told House Republicans in a closed-door meeting that any GOP candidate facing a moderate Democratic opponent should instead focus attention on El-Sayed, saying, “If you are one of the few Republicans who’s running against a Democrat who’s not that crazy, then just talk about Abdul El-Sayed. He’s got enough material for the whole country.” El-Sayed had met with Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill the day before the interview aired.
Bolduan initially suggested Min had campaigned alongside El-Sayed, which Min disputed; Bolduan then apologized for the error before asking whether El-Sayed poses a political problem for Democrats heading into the midterms.
“I think Republicans are looking for anything they can use to distract people from the fact that they have failed, over and over again,” Min said. “Americans are pissed off about rising costs, about the lack of good jobs in this country, housing, the Iran war, tariffs, and the massive corruption in the White House with the Trump family that we talked about in a hearing earlier this week.”
Min argued that Republicans “have not addressed any of this” and are instead turning to hearings on cultural flashpoints. He pointed to a congressional hearing last year on transgender athletes in collegiate fencing as an example, noting that only one transgender athlete competes in the co-ed sport at that level.
“They are trying to distract the American people right now, and this is another example of that,” Min said. “People are not buying it, though. They’re pissed off.”
Min said the issues Republicans are highlighting are not what constituents in his California district are raising with him, pointing instead to concerns about the cost of living, housing, and the war in Iran.
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