A Democrat-aligned political action committee (PAC) largely funded by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman could fund primary challenges against progressive Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Cori Bush, D-Mo., who’ve sparked controversy with their criticism of Israel in the wake of Hamas’ terror attack.
Dmitri Mehlhorn, Hoffman’s longtime political advisor, reached out to the Mainstream Democrats PAC to gauge a potential primary challenge from more moderate candidates capable of defeating Tlaib and Bush in their deep blue districts. The news was first reported by CNBC, and Mehlhorn later confirmed his thinking to Forbes and Jewish Insider.
"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.
He told the outlet that like-minded donors have since reached out to him in support of the effort, saying that he believes there’s "a winning electoral coalition, a large governing majority of Americans who want their leaders to be able to condemn violent atrocities and mass rape."
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FOX Business reached out to Mehlhorn for comment but did not receive a response prior to the deadline.
Unseating Tlaib and Bush would likely require a successful primary challenge as they both represent safe and reliably Democratic districts in Michigan and Missouri, respectively.
Democratic presidential candidates received at least 60% of the popular vote in Tlaib’s district, which is centered on portions of Dearborn and Detroit, in every election dating back to 2000; while they received at least 75% of the vote in Bush’s St. Louis-area district in that timeframe. Tlaib’s district has been represented by a Democrat since 1965 while Bush's has been a blue seat since 1949.
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Tlaib on Tuesday became the fourth member of the House of Representatives to be censured by the chamber since 2010.
In a bipartisan vote of 234-188 with 212 Republicans and 22 Democrats voting in favor, the House formally rebuked Tlaib for "promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel."
The text of the censure resolution cited several examples of Tlaib’s controversial rhetoric, including an Oct. 8 statement that blamed U.S. security aid to Israel, including the Iron Dome air defense system, in part for the attack.
It also stated that Tlaib "continued to knowingly spread the false narrative" that Israel intentionally bombed a hospital in Gaza after U.S. intelligence, Israeli intelligence, and President Joe Biden "assessed with high confidence that Israel did not cause the explosion."
The resolution censuring Tlaib also took issue with a video she posted on social media containing the phrase "from the river to the sea," which the legislation stated is "widely recognized as a genocidal call to violence to destroy the state of Israel and its people to replace it with a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea."
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The Anti-Defamation League’s website says the phrase is "an antisemitic charge denying the Jewish right to self-determination, including through the removal of Jews from their ancestral homeland."
Tlaib stood by her use of the phrase in remarks on the House floor before Tuesday’s vote saying that it’s "important to separate people and governments" and that the "idea that criticizing the Israeli government is antisemitic sets a dangerous precedent."
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Bush offered an emotional defense of Tlaib on the House floor, saying lawmakers are "blatantly, blatantly attempting to silence the only Palestinian-American representative right here. It’s outrageous but it’s not surprising. Let me tell you, it’s not surprising because this place is where 1,700 members of Congress, this elected body, enslaved Black people. It’s not surprising because they thought it was right."
FOX News’ Elizabeth Elkind and Kristine Parks contributed to this report.
