Vice President Kamala Harris is facing criticism centered on her race from some Republican figures as she becomes the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination after President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection bid.

On Sunday, Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis, told CBS-58 in Wisconsin that he believes "a lot of Democrats feel they have to stick with her because of her ethnic background."

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., accused Harris of being a "DEI hire" in a CNN interview on Monday and claimed that Biden wanted to pick a Black woman as a vice president: "When you go down that route, you take mediocrity."

DEI – which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion – refers to the initiatives and programs intended to address discrimination against historically marginalized groups within schools, businesses or government agencies, according to industry experts.

In a 2020 debate, Biden stated that he would "pick a woman to be vice president," not declaring a specific race. In a later interview with ABC News that August, Biden added that he "didn't feel pressure to select a Black woman."

"The government should look like the people, look like the country," said Biden in the interview. "Fifty-one percent of the people in this country are women. As that old expression goes, 'women hold up half the sky,' and in order to be able to succeed, you've got to be dealt in across the board."

In another 2020 interview, with MSNBC, when asked about who his potential running mate might be, Biden said, "I am not committed to naming any [of the potential candidates] but the people I've named, and among them there are four Black women."

DEI has been increasingly used as the basis for criticizing or questioning the qualifications of women, people of color, people in the LGBTQ community, and other marginalized groups in positions of authority.

These initiatives have been the target of conservative legislation nationwide, with lawmakers claiming they promote racial division and unfair advantages for marginalized groups. Those in favor of DEI initiatives say these programs aim to remedy longstanding forms of inequality, such as pay inequity, inaccessibility in the workplace, discrimination in hiring practices, and more.

Harris, who is currently the vice president, was a U.S. senator for four years, California's attorney general for six years, San Francisco's district attorney for about seven years, and got her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

In an interview on NBC News Now, Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the DEI attacks on Harris are "stupid and dumb."

"I disagree with DEI, but she's the vice president of the United States," said McCarthy. "These congressmen that are saying it, they're wrong in their own instincts."

Since joining the race, Harris has garnered support from Democratic legislators, advocacy groups and others across the country.

Her campaign has raised $100 million since entering the race for president on Sunday, according to her campaign. About 58,000 people also signed up to volunteer for the vice president's campaign, a figure that is more than 100 times its average daily signup rate, according to the campaign.