Article snippet: The Hawaii delegation in Congress has long been known as one of the most tightly-knit in Washington, but that tradition was shattered this week when Rep. MORE’s questioning of a judicial nominee. Gabbard, who announced Friday that she has decided to run for president in 2020, made headlines and provoked an irritated response from Hirono earlier in the week by implicitly accusing the senator and other Democrats in an op-ed published in The Hill of having “weaponized religion for their own selfish gain” in their questioning. While Gabbard did not mention Hirono by name, her fellow Hawaiian clearly saw the op-ed as friendly fire. Hirono, an outspoken critic of MORE, returned fire in a statement that dinged Gabbard for giving ammo to Trump’s right-wing allies. “Over the past two years, the Senator has been attacked by right wing ideologues for her examination of Donald Trump’s ideologically-driven nominees to the courts. It is unfortunate that Congresswoman Gabbard based her misguided opinion on the far-right wing manipulation of these straightforward questions,” Will Dempster, Hirono’s spokesman, said in a statement. A spokeswoman for Gabbard did not respond to a request for comment. Gabbard spokeswoman Lauren McIlvaine in a statement to The Washington Post said Gabbard will “always fight for religious freedom and oppose religious bigotry — no matter where it comes from or to whom it’s directed.” “Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard respects Senator Hirono,” McIlvaine ... Link to the full article to read more