Former Republican Rep. Scott Taylor of Virginia – in remarks declaring his candidacy for a US House seat on Monday – referred to a group of congresswomen with national security backgrounds as “these girls” who “tout their national security background all the time.”

“These girls that have national security backgrounds, they came out way before there was any bit of evidence whatsoever, and they did so, in this op-ed, to create political cover for moderates to allow [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi to move forward.”

In another appearance on a radio show in October, the Republican referred to the congresswomen as “those girls,” and claimed Pelosi had “used them and their veteran … status as cover to be able to start an impeachment inquiry.”

Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia, a retired US Navy officer, issued a statement in response to Taylor: “Yes, I am a girl. I may wear heels now, but I wore steel toed boots for 20 years in the Navy. It’s 2020 – girls can do anything.”

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Former Republican Rep. Scott Taylor of Virginia referred to a group of congresswomen with national security backgrounds as “these girls” who “tout their national security background all the time.” Taylor made the remark when he announced he was dropping his Senate bid for a US House seat on Monday.

Taylor, who is seeking the Republican nomination for a Virginia district currently represented by Democrat Elaine Luria, claimed a group of Democrats who previously worked in national security fields were immorally touting their service to justify impeaching President Donald Trump.

Luria is a retired nuclear-trained surface warfare officer who served in the US Navy for 20 years.

“These girls that have national security backgrounds, they came out way before there was any bit of evidence whatsoever, and they did so, in this op-ed, to create political cover for moderates to allow [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi to move forward,” Taylor said on the conservative John Fredericks radio show on Monday. “There’s no question about that.”

Taylor was referring to a Washington Post opinion column published in September, in which seven freshman Democrats who previously served in the US military or with intelligence agencies supported an impeachment investigation and accused Trump of “flagrant disregard for the law.”

Reps. Luria; Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former CIA analyst; Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, a former CIA officer; and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, a former Air Force officer; and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, a former Navy helicopter pilot, were five of the seven lawmakers who wrote that an anonymous whistleblower’s allegations on Trump’s July 25 conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was “unprecedented.”

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Foto: Rep. Elaine Luria, right, followed by Rep. Abigail Spanberger, left, leave a House Democratic Caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington, September 24, 2019.sourceJ. Scott Applewhite/AP

The allegations, made by a whistleblower in the US intelligence community, centered around Trump’s controversial communications with Ukraine and have since prompted the House’s move to impeach Trump, which has now made its way to the Senate.

“Our lives have been defined by national service,” the Democrats said in the article. “We are not career politicians.”

“We have devoted our lives to the service and security of our country, and throughout our careers, we have sworn oaths to defend the Constitution of the United States many times over,” they added. “Now, we join as a unified group to uphold that oath as we enter uncharted waters and face unprecedented allegations against President Trump.”

Some of the aforementioned Democrats representing competitive districts have since faced significant blowback for advocating for impeachment. Republican operatives have accused these Democrats of rushing through the impeachment investigation, and that they undeservedly touted their national security backgrounds to justify their reasoning.

Taylor claimed that Luria was “using her military background in a disgraceful way to justify the impeachment vote,” and that it was “quite frankly, the last straw.”

Taylor made similar remarks in the past. In another appearance on the radio show in October, the Republican referred to the congresswomen as “those girls,” and claimed Pelosi had “used them and their veteran … status as cover to be able to start an impeachment inquiry.”

Luria issued a statement in response to Taylor: “Yes, I am a girl. I may wear heels now, but I wore steel toed boots for 20 years in the Navy. It’s 2020 – girls can do anything.”

In 2018, Luria defeated Taylor, who served in the US Navy as a SEAL sniper. Taylor was once considered a rising star for the Republican party before his reelection campaign was found to have forged voter signatures for a third-party candidate.