The First Chinese American Woman Elected to Congress Blasts a Texas GOP Congressman After He Questioned Her Loyalty

Rep. Judy Chu, the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress, on Thursday blasted Texas GOP Rep. Lance Gooden over recent statements that he made where he seemingly questioned her loyalty to the United States.

During a Wednesday interview on Fox News, the third-term Gooden suggested that the California Democrat, who has served in the House since 2009, should be barred from accessing sensitive classified materials over her defense of Dominic Ng — the chairman and chief executive of the California-based East West Bank and President Joe Biden’s appointee to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council.

Several Republicans, including Gooden, have said that Ng needs to be investigated by the FBI after a Daily Caller investigative article was published alleging the banker had ties to a Chinese Communist Party front group.

Gooden, while on the Fox News program “Jesse Watters Primetime,” rebuked Chu, calling her “out of touch.”

“I question her either loyalty or competence,” he said during the interview. “If she doesn’t realize what’s going on then she’s totally out of touch with one of her core constituencies.”

Earlier this month, Chu, the chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, released a joint statement with Reps. Ted Lieu and Mark Takano of California and Rep. Grace Meng of New York that condemned the GOP move.

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“I think she has drug along the other Chinese American members to sign this letter. But I do think she’s the ringleader,” Gooden said. “I’m really disappointed and shocked that someone like Judy Chu would have a security clearance {snip}”

Chu and top Democratic lawmakers quickly slammed Gooden over his comments.

“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.”

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York also zeroed in on Gooden {snip}

“Lance Gooden’s slanderous accusation of disloyalty against Rep. Chu is dangerous, unconscionable and xenophobic,” Jeffries said in a statement. {snip}

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Gooden hit back at the Democratic charges, accusing Chu and Jeffries of inserting race into the discussion.

“Rather than following 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,” Gooden remarked in an email.

During his Fox News interview, Gooden also voiced his frustration over the Democratic response to the GOP request for a probe into Ng.

“We’re standing up to communist China and these Democrats’ first reaction is to come to their defense and call us all racists,” Gooden said at the time.

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