Rep. Ro Khanna Calls GOP Witness Michael Lucci “Racist” at House China Hearing

When a China watchdog hearing turns into a shouting match over “racism,” it exposes how culture wars keep Washington from fixing the rigged economic game that is crushing American workers.

Story Snapshot

Ro Khanna used a China committee hearing to push “economic patriotism,” but the moment went viral for his clash with a Republican witness over alleged racist remarks.
Khanna warned about Chinese theft of American ideas, forced business deals, and a growing trade gap that he says has “shafted” U.S. workers and hollowed out industry.^[1]^[6]
Conservative outlets blasted Khanna as a “clown” and claimed he attacked Trump’s trade record instead of China, feeding anger at grandstanding politicians.^[1]^[3]
Both parties agree China plays dirty on trade, yet Congress still has no clear plan for targeted tariffs, fraud crackdowns, or real rebuilding of U.S. factories.^[1]^[3]^[24]

Khanna’s China Warning: IP Theft, Forced Deals, Lost Jobs

Representative Ro Khanna, the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, opened the hearing by saying it is “undisputed” that China has stolen American intellectual property and forced United States companies into joint ventures that give up their technology.^[1] He argued that these tactics have helped drain manufacturing strength from the United States and deepen the trade deficit with China, which he says has pushed jobs offshore and left many communities feeling abandoned.^[1]^[6] His message was that China’s economic playbook hits regular Americans hardest, not Washington elites.

Khanna tied these concerns to a broader idea he calls “new economic patriotism.” In an online post, he wrote that Americans have been “shafted” as the trade deficit with China has widened and jobs have left the country, and that the answer is investment in local communities and workers.^[6] He wants the United States to be more self-reliant in key industries, including advanced manufacturing, so future growth happens in cities and small towns here instead of in Chinese industrial hubs.^[1]^[3] This message speaks directly to voters on both the left and right who feel the system is rigged against them.

Tariffs, Fraud, and a Fight Over Trump’s Legacy

Khanna did more than complain about China’s behavior; he took aim at past United States trade policy, including decisions made under President Trump. He criticized Trump’s China deal for slashing tariffs down to about ten percent on many goods, saying that was “far lower” than rates on close allies and did not truly protect American workers.^[3] He argued for “strategic tariffs” that focus on sectors where China uses unfair practices, but his statements so far do not spell out exact rates, targeted products, or how to avoid higher prices for families.^[1]^[3]

Khanna also called for investigations into what he described as “fraudulent initial public offerings” by Chinese-linked firms that raise money in United States markets.^[1] He said these stock deals can leave American investors holding the bag when companies collapse or hide key information. But his opening statement did not name specific cases or show hard numbers for losses.^[1] That gap makes it easy for skeptics to dismiss his warnings as more rhetoric in a town already drowning in hearings, reports, and press releases that rarely lead to real enforcement.

From Policy Debate to “Racist” Clash and Media Spin

During the hearing, Khanna’s questioning of Republican witness Michael Lucci shifted the focus away from tariffs and trade. Lucci had suggested denaturalizing about 1.5 million people tied to Chinese influence operations, a proposal many viewers found shocking.^[12]^[13] Khanna pressed him on whether this meant stripping citizenship from Chinese Americans who live, work, and raise families in the United States, and accused the idea of being racist. Conservative media quickly framed the exchange as Khanna picking a fight with “the wrong guy” and acting like a “clown,” turning the moment into another viral culture war clip instead of a serious talk about China policy.

Supporters praised Khanna for defending Asian Americans against what they saw as collective punishment, while critics argued he misunderstood Lucci’s narrower focus on people born in United States territories who immediately return to China.^[12]^[13] Whatever the intent, the clash let many Americans see once again how Washington hearings often devolve into name-calling instead of clear plans. For citizens who already believe a corrupt “deep state” cares more about TV moments than fixing broken trade rules, this episode will likely deepen their distrust of both parties.

Bipartisan Tough Talk on China, Thin Follow-Through at Home

On paper, Khanna has built some cross-party cooperation. He joined Committee Chairman John Moolenaar in a bipartisan letter urging the Treasury, Commerce, and Defense departments to crack down on Futurewei Technologies and other bad actors tied to Chinese tech influence.^[4] Think tanks across the spectrum note that Democrats and Republicans now largely agree on taking a harder line against China, especially on technology theft, unfair subsidies, and pressure on Taiwan.^[19]^[23]^[24] Reports from the Trump White House itself described Chinese tactics such as forced technology transfer and cyber theft as direct threats to United States interests.^[24]

Yet the gap between tough words and concrete action remains wide. Khanna’s calls for higher, targeted tariffs lack formal bill text or independent modeling to show how many jobs might be saved and how much prices could rise.^[1]^[3] His concerns about fraudulent stock offerings by Chinese companies have not led to clear Securities and Exchange Commission hearings or public data on enforcement. Meanwhile, broader research shows United States–China rivalry has shifted from a mix of cooperation and competition to near full confrontation, without a clear plan to rebuild American manufacturing capacity at home.^[19]^[23] For many voters, this looks like another chapter in a long story: Washington talks tough, Wall Street stays rich, and ordinary Americans keep struggling.