House Republican doubles down after questioning Democrat’s loyalty to the US
Juliegrace Brufke
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Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) is standing by his controversial remarks questioning Rep. Judy Chu’s (D-CA) loyalty to the United States despite bipartisan criticism.
Gooden first took aim at Chu, a Chinese American, last week during an appearance on Fox News in which he told host Jesse Waters that the California Democrat should not have access to classified materials and briefings while citing a report that the representative had ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Top lawmakers slammed his comments as xenophobic and dangerous amid the uptick in hate crimes against the Asian community.
Gooden took to social media to defend his comments on Monday, tweeting: “Democrat @RepJudyChu: Voted AGAINST committee to investigate China. Named ‘Honorary Chairwoman’ of CCP front group. It’s not ‘xenophobic’ to question where her loyalty lies.” He linked to a Daily Caller report that found the congresswoman was named an “honorary chairwoman” of an alleged Chinese front group.
DEMOCRATS SLAM LANCE GOODEN’S COMMENTS QUESTIONING JUDY CHU’S LOYALTY TO US
Following his initial comments, Chu said she believed the comments were motivated by her heritage and blasted his accusations of dual loyalty.
“Rep. Gooden’s comments on Fox News questioning my loyalty to the USA is absolutely outrageous,” she said in a statement. “It is based on false information spread by an extreme, right-wing website. Furthermore, it is racist. I very much doubt that he would be spreading these lies were I not of Chinese American descent.”
House Select Committee on China Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and ranking member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) rebuked his accusations during an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday.
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“One of my colleagues, unfortunately, attacked Judy Chu, the first Chinese American congresswoman in the United States Congress, saying that somehow she’s not loyal to the United States. I find that offensive as an Asian American myself,” Krishnamoorthi said.
Gallagher called the comments “beyond the pale,” adding that “we should not question anybody’s loyalty to the United States. I think that is out of bounds.”