Republican calls questioning of Judy Chu’s loyalty ‘out of bounds’

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), chair of the House Select Committee on China, on Sunday appeared to call out his Republican colleague Rep. Lance Gooden (Texas) for comments questioning the loyalty of Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) to the United States.

“Well, let me say we should not question anybody’s loyalty to the United States. I think that is out of bounds. It’s beyond the pale,” Gallagher said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

Gooden had sparked Democratic backlash after he suggested Chu, the nation’s first Chinese-American congresswoman, should be barred from accessing sensitive materials, after she defended President Biden’s appointee for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation against allegations of ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

“I question her either loyalty or competence,” Gooden said on Fox News.  

Gallagher on Sunday said that “if there are concerns about a specific organization” then lawmakers “should work with our colleagues to apprise them that they might be targets” of the CCP.

“CCP influence — as a former counterintelligence officer, I can tell you, we are a soft target in Congress. But absolutely, we shouldn’t question anybody’s loyalty,” Gallagher said.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.), the top Democrat on the select China committee, said Beijing wanted to sow divisions in U.S. politics, appearing along with Gallagher on “Face the Nation.”

“We can’t go that route. Again, the Chinese Communist Party loves it when we are internally fractious and they like it when we are stereotyping. We have to avoid that. And we have to hold the Chinese Communist Party … accountable for specific activities and deal with those,” Krishnamoorthi said.