'Dangerous, unconscionable and xenophobic': Rep. Judy Chu calls out Texas GOP lawmaker for 'racist' comments

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) called out Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) for directing "racist" and "xenophobic" comments towards her during a Fox News interview, asserting the congresswoman's security clearance and access to classified briefings should be revoked, NBC reports.

Per NBC, in response to Chu's defense of President Joe Biden-appointed U.S. member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council, Dominic Ng, Gooden posited the congresswoman is both disloyal to the United States and incapable of doing her job. Right-wing website Daily Caller previously "alleged [Chu] has ties to a Chinese Communist Party front group."

During the interview, the Texas congressman suggested "Judy Chu needs to be called out," saying, "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."

Gooden continued, "I’m really disappointed and shocked that someone like Judy Chu would have a security clearance and entitled to confidential intelligence briefings until this is figured out."

Chu, who is also chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, denounced Gooden's comments stating, "Rep. Gooden’s comments on Fox News questioning my loyalty to the USA is absolutely outrageous. 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."

NBC reports:

Daily Caller publisher Neil Patel defended the article in a statement, saying: "It was well researched, fairly reported and based largely on direct Chinese language source materials. Rep. Chu is lashing out wildly instead of engaging substantively since she can’t refute the facts presented."

House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) blasted Gooden in a statement this week, noting his Democratic colleague is "a hardworking, patriotic American public servant who is an important part of the gorgeous mosaic of our diverse country."

He continued, "Lance Gooden's slanderous accusation of disloyalty against Rep. Chu is dangerous, unconscionable and xenophobic."

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus also expressed its support of Chu via Twitter, sharing its "full statement" and saying, "Rep. Lance Gooden's comments questioning @RepJudyChu's loyalty to the United States are categorically false. This type of racist targeting and profiling of Chinese Americans by right-wing extremists is incredibly dangerous."

According to NBC, Chu and fellow Asian Pacific American Caucus members Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) also released a statement rebuking Gooden's assertion.

"As with every presidential appointee, Dominic Ng, who is Chinese American, has undergone an extensive vetting process and sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution and serve the American public," the representatives wrote. "No Chinese Americans — indeed no Americans — should face suspicions of disloyalty or treason based on their ethnicity, nation of origin, or that of their family members."