Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., explained in a “Special Report” Thursday why the United States must act with a sense of urgency to protect American interests from threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“We are in the early stages of a new cold war. And because of the combination of complacency and corruption, it is not certain that we will win. We must bring a sense of urgency to our efforts,” he told the host. Bret Baier.
Gallagher was tapped by House Speaker-elect Kevin McCarthy to lead a select committee from the CCP focusing on cyber, trade and military threats.
The Marine veteran, who was first elected to Congress in 2016, said the China Select Committee will explain what the US is up against and develop plans to counter threats to national security.
House Speaker-elect Kevin McCarthy has announced that Rep. Mike Gallagher will be the chairman of the House China Select Committee.
(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“As a member who served in the military as a Marine counterintelligence officer and has dedicated his time in Congress to understanding, educating, and protecting America from the CCP threat, Mike Gallagher is highly qualified and the right person to lead and develop it. An important agenda at this critical moment” McCarthy said in the statement.
Gallagher added that his predecessor, Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, tried to get his Democratic colleagues to join the committee, but they refused.
CHINA AND THE US ARE LOCKED IN THE COLD WAR. WE MUST WIN IT. THAT’S HOW WE WILL BE
“We want this to be a bipartisan effort. We want Democrats to get serious, sober people involved, because protecting America from the aggression of the Chinese Communist Party should not be a partisan affair,” he said.
Host Bret Baier noted that there have been House Select Committees on China before and asked how this would be different.
“The last public report was in 1999,” Baier said. “Here we are 23 years later; what has changed?”
“What has changed is that the Chinese Communist Party is much more powerful. And Xi Jinping is much more powerful than his predecessors,” Gallagher replied.
“I mean, look at what’s happening with TikTok right now. TikTok is on the verge of becoming the most dominant media company in America.”
The Pentagon banned TikTok from government devices as lawmakers and experts warned of online dangers.
(Image credit via Marijan Murat/Getty Images)
The congressman warned against using the popular social networking app, which gives the CCP the ability to collect and track data on user trends even when the app is not in use.
“All parents, I urge them to remove their children from this app before it’s too late,” he said.