A Democrat political action committee (PAC) funded primarily by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is weighing the option of backing primary challengers to progressive Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) in 2024.
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The effort to oust the two radical congresswomen from their own party stems from their criticism of Israel in its war against Hamas, which has already led to Tlaib being formally censured.
Reid Hoffman, who co-founded business networking site LinkedIn in 2002 and has been a Microsoft board member since 2017, contacted the Mainstream Democrats PAC via attorney Dmitri Mehlhorn to discuss finding moderate replacements for the two far-left representatives. Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush, elected to Congress in 2018 and 2020 respectively, are both members of the ultra-progressive “Squad,” which also includes radicals like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY).
“I have been asking [Mainstream Democrats PAC] if there is any possibility of ousting the most extreme members of Congress, and I have been asking about Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib,” Melhorn told CNBC on Wednesday. “I am hopeful that they will come back to me with good news. I would be eager to raise support for that effort.”
In the wake of Hamas’ deadly October 7 attack on Israel, Rep. Tlaib (the sole Palestinian member of Congress) has spoken out in support of Palestine and condemned Israel’s “genocide” against her people. This rhetoric has led to extensive criticism from her colleagues in the Legislative Branch. A video she published on social media featuring the “from the river to the sea” chant — which essentially calls for the eradication of Israel — resulted in a bipartisan censure on Tuesday.
Rep. Bush has been one of Tlaib’s biggest allies in the past few weeks, joining her in calling for an immediate ceasefire. She also delivered an impassioned and emotional defense of Tlaib on the House floor, accusing Congress of being responsible for persecuting Palestinians in the same way it once “enslaved Black people.”
While multiple Republican efforts to oust the two radicals have been unsuccessful given their positions in solid Democratic districts, the possibility of a challenge within their own party may produce better results.
“One of the very, very small silver linings of this horrible moment is that it does modestly increase the likelihood that we can remove some of these members of Congress,” Mehlhorn told Jewish Insider. “A winning electoral coalition, a large governing majority of Americans, want their leaders to be able to condemn violent atrocities and mass rape.”
Reid Hoffman has given $1.5 million to the Mainstream Democrats PAC since its launch in 2022 and is a frequent contributor to other center-left organizations as well.
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