Democrats have slammed Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) for remarks he made suggesting Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), a Chinese American, should not have access to classified materials and briefings while citing a report that the California Democrat had ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Gooden told Fox News host Jesse Watters on Wednesday that he thinks “Judy Chu needs to be called out” and “looked into” while referencing a report by the Daily Caller in which Chu defended Dominic Ng, President Joe Biden’s appointee to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council. The report alleged that Ng has ties to two CCP intelligence front groups, which prompted Gooden and a handful of GOP lawmakers to send a letter calling for the FBI to launch an investigation.
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“I question her either loyalty or competence. If she doesn’t realize what’s going on, then she’s totally out of touch with one of her core constituencies,” the Texas Republican said on Wednesday.
Top Democrats were quick to defend Chu, arguing that inflammatory rhetoric of that nature is dangerous amid the drastic rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.
“Dr. Judy Chu is a hardworking, patriotic American public servant who is an important part of the gorgeous mosaic of our diverse country,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said in a statement. “Lance Gooden’s slanderous accusation of disloyalty against Rep. Chu is dangerous, unconscionable and xenophobic.”
DCCC Chairman Suzan DelBene (D-WA) echoed Jeffries’s sentiments, asserting that she believes the comments are divisive and an effort to spread misinformation.
“Congresswoman Judy Chu is a public servant whose patriotism, heritage, and transformative contributions to our country ought to be celebrated, not used by Republicans to stoke hatred, division, question Judy’s loyalty, and spread blatant misinformation,” she said in a statement.
“At a time when anti-Asian hate continues to threaten communities, it’s critical that we condemn these racist and xenophobic attacks immediately and hold our fellow colleagues accountable to rid our politics of such dangerous statements and hatred,” she added.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who was recently booted from the House Intelligence Committee, took to social media to condemn Gooden’s comments and Fox News for airing them.
“Questioning @RepJudyChu’s loyalty to the United States is xenophobic and racist. Shame on you, @LanceGooden. And on @FoxNews for airing such hate. We cannot allow anti-Asian bigotry to go without condemnation,” he tweeted.
And Chu said she believes the comments were motivated by her Asian heritage, calling his accusations “outrageous.”
“Rep. Gooden’s comments on Fox News questioning my loyalty to the USA is absolutely outrageous,” Chu 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.”
Gooden has defended his comments, quote tweeting Schiff saying he is glad Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) removed him from the high-profile committee.
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“Adam Schiff pushed the ‘Russian collusion’ lie for years. Now he’s mad I called out his Democrat colleague for defending the CCP and he opposes following the facts. Thank God @SpeakerMcCarthy removed you from the House Intel Committee,” he said in his post.
