Lawmakers who accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of being a war criminal are edging the U.S. toward a conflict with Russia, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) said Thursday.

“It seems to me that what we’ve got are war mongers claiming other people are war criminals,” Rohrabacher, who has been mentioned as a possible U.S. ambassador to Russia in a Trump administration, said in an interview Breitbart News Radio.

“This is the wrong kind of tone. That type of rhetoric is leading us to a point where we will be in conflict and the Russians will think that we are out to get them."

Rohrabacher’s comments appeared to target lawmakers like Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioHillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll Intelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings Republican Senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal MORE, who asked prospective Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday if he believed Putin was a war criminal.

But other members of Congress have struck similarly hardline tones on the Kremlin, such as Sens. John McCain John Sidney McCainKelly's lead widens to 10 points in Arizona Senate race: poll COVID response shows a way forward on private gun sale checks Trump pulls into must-win Arizona trailing in polls MORE (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Loeffler calls for hearing in wake of Netflix's 'Cuties' Quinnipiac poll shows Graham, Harrison tied in South Carolina Senate race MORE (R-S.C.), who called for tougher sanctions on Russia on Thursday.

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President-elect Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE has voiced admiration for Putin, at one point saying he was doing a better job than outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaGOP senator blocks Schumer resolution aimed at Biden probe as tensions run high D-Day for Trump: September 29 Obama says making a voting plan is part of 'how to quarantine successfully' MORE. Trump has also questioned U.S. intelligence reports that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, which has drawn criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

But some Republican members of Congress have appeared to take a more conciliatory tone on the Kremlin in recent months. In his comments to Breitbart, Rohrabacher said the United States’ criticism of Russian efforts to hack the presidential election was hypocritical.

“We hacked into their system all the time,” Rohrabacher said. “Not just their system, we’re recording telephone conversations of foreign leaders.”