Hillary Clinton has backed out of a Friday appearance at an event also scheduled to include
Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, among other guests, according to a report.
Word of Clinton's removal from the bill of Fortune magazine’s Most Powerful Women Summit came Thursday, the same day the former secretary of state sparked a clash by
accusing Gabbard of being groomed by Russia to run as a third-party candidate for president in 2020.
The Hawaii congresswoman and combat veteran fired back in a scathing
series of tweets later Thursday, challenging Clinton not to “hide behind your proxies” and join the presidential race "directly."
Slate.com reported that Clinton removed herself from the three-day summit due to a scheduling conflict. An unnamed source told the publication that Clinton decided not to participate in an act of protest against former
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who was also scheduled to speak.