California Dems ridiculed for keeping 'hypocritical' ban on Republicans in Hispanic caucus: 'So much for DEI'

Republicans are calling out Democrats for their hypocrisy within their diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda, as California Democrats ban Hispanic Republicans from joining the state's Latino Legislative Caucus.

The midterms yielded a record number of Latino lawmakers elected to the state legislature, but that didn't change the generations-long trend of excluding GOP lawmakers from the minority-based caucus. 

California State Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R) and California State Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez (R) both spoke out against the exclusion, calling out their Democratic colleagues for the double standard. 

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"When you have a diverse group of people qualifying and ever advocating and having the discussions on any issue, you bring more balanced policy," Ochoa Bogh told Pete Hegseth on "Hannity" Tuesday night. "So I think… at the bottom of it all, it's just it has to do with fear, at least now, but I think it's a great opportunity right now to reassess where we are as a state and reassess where the Latino caucus is in California."

According to The Sacramento Bee, the caucus was created five decades ago, and Republicans have always been barred from joining. 

The Bee reported even as Ochoa Bogh was elected as the first "Republican Latina senator in state history," there were no exceptions for her to the generations-long rule. 

Sanchez said she was "surprised" at first that she was not allowed to partake in the caucus, but then quickly noted the "hypocritical" nature of the policy as far-left Democrats continue the diversity, equity, and inclusion campaign.  

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Despite being excluded, Sanchez noted it will not hinder her efforts to represent everyone in her district, regardless of partisanship. 

"My colleagues and I have discussed at length we are focused on delivering for the district," Sanchez said. "That means we work on inflation… We work on education, making sure that children receive quality education no matter their zip code, and then we work on making our communities safer."

"They didn't ask if I was a Latino Republican or a Democrat," she continued. "They wanted us to deliver results. They wanted to know we would fight for them."

But this issue isn't exclusive to California. 

And it's not happening just at the state level, either. 

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Florida Rep. Byron Donalds (R) has also been excluded from the Black congressional caucus at the federal level. 

"So much for DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion. It's their favorite thing, except when it applies to people that don't agree with them," said Hegseth.

Fox News contributor Deroy Murdock argued the ban could come in an effort to preserve the party's reach, despite claiming it advocates for "Black progress."

"I think you could have 25 Black Republicans in the Congressional Black Caucus and still try to keep them out because they're not really about Black progress, they're about the advancement of big government liberalism, big government socialism, and the preservation of the Democrat Party's political power," Murdock said. 

"It's less about celebrating Black achievement than maintaining the ongoing power of the Democrat Party," he continued. "That's really what they're all about, and having a bunch of Republicans in the room does not that doesn't help that objective at all."