ā€œDEI hireā€ has become the latest insult to Black success,Ā and presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris isnā€™t exempt.

An insult uttered in schools and boardrooms about many marginalized people has a new high-profile target: Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

ā€œI think sheā€™s one of the weakest candidates Iā€™ve ever seen in the history of our country. I mean intellectually, just really kind of the bottom of the barrel. ā€¦ I think that she was a DEI hire,ā€ Rep.Ā Harriett Hageman, a Wyoming Republican, saidĀ of Harris.

Earlier this month, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.,Ā said on X that the news mediaĀ had ā€œpropped upā€ Biden, and then ā€œdumped him for our DEI vice president.ā€

For Black diversity, equity and inclusion professionals, the attacks on Harris as a ā€œDEI hireā€ or a ā€œDEI candidateā€ show the ways racial tropes can be used against Black people in power, despite their successes. Burchett and Hageman did not respond to requests for comment from NBC News.