Democrats are defending Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) after a GOP lawmaker questioned her loyalty because she supported a Biden nominee who has been accused by conservatives of working with China.
According to The Hill, Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) suggested in an interview with FOX News that Chu should not have access to classified documents because she defended Dominic Ng. President Biden has chosen Ng to help direct America’s trade interests in Asia but Republicans have accused Ng of working with communist leaders in Beijing.
“I question her either loyalty or competence,” Gooden said in the interview, according to The Hill. “If she doesn’t realize what’s going on then she’s totally out of touch with one of her core constituencies.”
Chu is the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress. On Wednesday, she issued a statement condemning the racist nature of Gooden’s comments about her loyalty.
“Rep. Gooden’s comments on Fox News questioning my loyalty to the USA is absolutely outrageous,” Chu said, according to NBC News. “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.”
Democrats are also calling out Gooden for making anti-Asian remarks.
“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,” Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), head of the Democrats’ campaign arm, said, according to The Hill.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement defending Chu.
“Gooden’s slanderous accusation of disloyalty against Rep. Chu is dangerous, unconscionable and xenophobic,” Jeffries said, according to NBC News.
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