Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. on Thursday ripped Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., for her "blatantly outrageous" attacks after she called him a "prop" in the House speaker race and accused him of supporting a policy agenda that upholds and perpetuates "white supremacy."
Donalds emerged as a protest candidate for the House speaker role as some Republicans continue to oppose Rep. Kevin McCarthy's bid for the post.
"FWIW, @ByronDonalds is not a historic candidate for speaker," Bush, considered a member of the far-left "Squad" in Congress, tweeted Wednesday. "He is a prop. Despite being Black, he supports a policy agenda intent on upholding and perpetuating white supremacy. His name being in the mix is not progress — it's pathetic."
Donalds replied on Twitter on Thursday.
"If you see a Black man rise, let the man rise even if you disagree with them," he said. "I'd be happy to sit down and debate our policies one on one whenever you'd like. As a Black man to a Black woman, I'd never do that to you. It's a shame you did it to me."
McCarthy has failed to secure a majority during six rounds of voting so far. He needs 218 votes to win and faces an opposition of about 20 members.
Several Democrats have refused to address Bush's statement.
"My view has been let's continue to organize on our side as we've done: strength, unity, resilience," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told Fox News Digital.
"The Republicans have created a mess on their side and the Republicans need to sort it out," he added.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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