Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, on Thursday called Texas GOP Rep. Lance Gooden, questioning his loyalty to America over his comments this week.
Chu, D-Calif., issued a statement in response to Gooden’s remarks in a Fox News interview on Wednesday night, when he suggested Chu should not have a security clearance or access to classified briefings. Chu had defended Dominic Ng, a Biden appointee featured in an article by the conservative Daily Caller that alleged Ng had ties to a Chinese Communist Party front group.
Chu, the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress, said, “Rep. Gooden’s comments on Fox News questioning my loyalty to America are absolutely outrageous.” “It is based on false information spread by an extremist, right-wing website. Furthermore, it is racist. I highly doubt he would be spreading these lies if I were not Chinese American.”
Gooden said in the interview, “I think Judy Chu needs to be called out.”
“I question his loyalty or competence. If he doesn’t know what’s happening, he’s completely out of touch with one of his core constituencies,” he said. “I’m really disappointed and Appalled that someone like Judy Chu would have a security clearance and be entitled to confidential intelligence briefings until this is known.”
Daily Caller publisher Neil Patel defended the article in a statement, saying: “It was well researched, objectively reported and based on direct Chinese language source material. Rep. Chu was originally engaging is lashing out rather wildly because he cannot refute the facts presented.
Gooden, a third-term lawmaker who is a member of the Judiciary Committee, was joined on February 15 by five other House Republicans in asking the FBI to investigate Ng, the CEO of East West Bank in California, whom Biden appointed last year. did. Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council.
Chu and other members of the Asian Pacific American Caucus – Democratic Reps. Grace Meng of New York, Ted Liu of California and Mark Takano of California — hit back at their GOP colleagues in a joint statement two days later.
“Like every person appointed to the office of president, Dominic Ng, who is Chinese American, has gone through an extensive vetting process and taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution and serve the American people,” he said. “No Chinese American—indeed any American—should face suspicion of treason or treason on the basis of their ethnicity, country of origin or members of their family.”
Federal Election Commission records show that Ng has donated to various Democratic congressional candidates in recent years, including Lieu, as well as to the Biden Victory Fund and the Democratic National Committee.
Asked on Fox News whether Chu should be “investigated” in light of his defense of Ng, Gooden said, “I think everybody who stands up for the Communist Party of China should be looked into, yes. “
He said he believed Chu had acted as a “ringleader” and dragged “other Chinese American members” of the caucus to support Ng.
Liu and Meng are Taiwanese Americans, and Takano is Japanese American.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, DN.Y. condemned Gooden in a statement on Thursday.
Jeffries said, “Gooden’s reprehensible allegation against Rap. Chu is dangerous, unconscionable and xenophobic.”
Gooden stood by his comments Thursday, saying, “Rather than adhere to the facts that indicate the presence of Chinese espionage, Chu and Jeffries are playing the race card in a sick display of disloyalty to our nation.”
A spokeswoman for East West Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
