Texas Republican Representative Lance Gooden is facing condemnation from members of his own party over comments he made questioning California Democratic Representative Judy Chu's loyalty to the United States.
In an interview with Fox News, Gooden said of Chu:
"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."
When Representative Chu was elected in 2009, she became the first Chinese-American woman to become a member of Congress. She has a long history of serving in elected office, even before she joined the House, starting with her election to the Board of Education for Garvey School District in 1985.
She then went on to be elected to the Monterey Park City Council in 1989 and served as Mayor of Monterey Park until 1994. From there she moved up to state government, being elected to California's State Assembly in 2001.
Considering Chu's more than 30 years of public service to the United States, Gooden's accusation of disloyalty seems quite misplaced.
Chu spoke with The Hill about Gooden's accusation, calling it "shocking and outrageous."
"It was shocking and outrageous that Congressmember Gooden would question my loyalty based on falsehoods that were spread by an extreme right-wing website."
"And that’s why it was so important for us to push back because sometimes if you don’t push back, these rumors take a life of their own, and then people like Gooden would go after even other people."
Fellow lawmakers from both parties quickly condemned Gooden as well.
Wisconsin Representative Mike Gallagher—a Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on China—told Face The Nation:
"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. [...] Absolutely, we shouldn’t question anybody’s loyalty."
Gallagher said if anyone had any concerns about a fellow lawmaker being a target of the CCP, they should work together to appraise the situation—not cast aspersions on national television.
"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."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Gooden's remarks "slanderous" and said they were "dangerous, unconscionable and xenophobic."
Another member of the Select Committee on China, Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, also condemned Gooden and expressed concern about the consequences of this sort of very public disharmony within the House.
"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."
"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."
Chu responded to Gooden's accusation on Twitter as well, calling his comments dangerous.
Gooden later doubled down on his assertion that Chu is unloyal to the United States via Twitter on February 26.
Chu had a lot to say about Gooden's continued accusation that she is disloyal.
"It’s outrageous, it’s racist, it’s disgusting. And it just lays the groundwork for questioning AAPIs in this country, and it lays the groundwork for more anti-AAPI hate."
The origin of Gooden's accusation also concerned her and reflected a larger pattern.
"It was shocking and outrageous that Congressmember Gooden would question my loyalty based on falsehoods that were spread by an extreme right-wing website."
"And that’s why it was so important for us to push back because sometimes if you don’t push back, these rumors take a life of their own, and then people like Gooden would go after even other people."
Chu also pointed out that Gooden — who voted to overturn the 2020 election results — doesn't exactly have a record of perfect loyalty.
"This comes from a Congressmember, Lance Gooden, who supports the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. They were willing to overturn the election results — how is that being loyal to America?"
While other lawmakers who have made unacceptable comments have faced censure or been stripped of their committee assignments, Chu said that she first wants Gooden to apologize.
"I think there should be a very strong demand for him to apologize. And, you know, we’ll see what happens from here."
Chu is far from the only person calling on Gooden to apologize for his accusation, and she said she wants to see the effect of so many calls for an apology.
"All the community groups, all the advocacy groups, many of the Democratic leaders have demanded for him to apologize, and I want to see how he responds to that."
In a statement released on February 23, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also pointed out Gooden's hypocrisy.
"Dr. Judy Chu is a hardworking, patriotic American public servant who is an important part of the gorgeous mosaic of our diverse country. Lance Gooden’s slanderous accusation of disloyalty against Rep. Chu is dangerous, unconscionable and xenophobic."
"Congressman Gooden appears to sympathize with violent insurrectionists and spreads big lies to the American people, having voted not to certify the election of President Joe Biden. Look in the mirror, Lance. You have zero credibility."
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