US House China hawk retires in party spat
Rep. Mike Gallagher had emerged as a key leader in Congress addressing the CCP's threat to America.
Leading Republican China hawk, Representative Mike Gallagher is resigning from Congress in April after a falling out with former President Donald Trump’s political allies in the House of Representatives.
A Princeton University graduate and former US Marine Corps intelligence officer in Iraq, Gallagher has served for the past year as chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
In that role, Gallagher has been an outspoken advocate for the view held by many in Washington that China’s governing Communist Party is a “grave military, economic, and ideological threat” and the US needs a new approach to “fight and win the strategic competition.”
“We are in a decisive moment for US national security,” Gallagher said at Select Committee hearing on March 30. “As we watch China undertake the largest peacetime military buildup since at least World War II, it finds eager friends in Moscow, Tehran, and Pyongyang. We ignore them at our peril.”
Gallagher's not wrong. But it would take sustained leadership to prepare the US for what appears to lie ahead – both militarily and diplomatically – and that appears to have been impossible for Gallagher working within Trump’s version of the Republican Party.
The US faces a real crisis in Ukraine in its war with Russia which has drawn support from Iran, North Korea, and China. Iran is supplying Russia with combat drones. North Korea is providing missiles, artillery shells and ammunition. China is providing hard currency through oil purchases and other strategic support.
Meanwhile, a right-wing faction of House Republicans have been blocking $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, holding it hostage for domestic political motives and maximalist policy demands. (Johnson says he’ll bring the Ukraine aid bill to vote next week.)
Gallagher’s role in Congress echoes Carl Vinson who served in the House of Representatives from 1914 to 1965. In the 1930s, Vinson used his chairmanship of the House Naval Affairs Committee to advance an ambitious shipbuilding program that helped prepare the US for World War II in the Pacific.
The relevant difference between Vinson and Gallagher is, Vinson had the decade of the 1930s to advocate and legislate. He ultimately served 25 terms in the House. Gallagher was just beginning to make an impact in the chamber where seniority and committee assignments are the coin of power. He is headed for an exit after just three and half terms.
Victim of Dysfunction
Indeed, Gallagher’s unexpected retirement illustrates the partisan dysfunction in Congress right now. He is the fourth Republican committee chair to announce retirement this year. Speaker Mike Johnson, the No. 1 House Republican, faces threats from within his own party to strip him of his speakership with a no-confidence vote, potentially paralyzing the House. As it is, Republicans hold only a 218-213 majority over Democrats, meaning Republicans cannot afford to lose more than two votes on any issue – a razor-thin margin.
Gallagher broke with the House’s pro-Trump Republicans earlier this year when he refused to vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas on what many observers viewed as bogus charges.
In a dramatic moment on the House floor, observed by reporters in the press gallery, Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and others cornered Gallagher, screaming and wagging fingers at him. Back home in Wisconsin, there were threats of a primary challenge. Days later he announced he would resign.
Now, Gallagher’s departure before the end of his term throws into doubt the future effectiveness of the Select Committee on the CCP, which under Gallagher had succeeded in forging a bipartisan consensus on a wide range of get-tough-on-China measures.
TikTok legislation
Gallagher and his committee were instrumental in the House’s passage of legislation to require Beijing-based ByteDance to divest its US social media property TikTok which has millions of American users.
Speaker Johnson praised Gallagher for his "extraordinary work” and for "courageously exposing the threat Beijing poses." But “there is little consensus in the House over whether to extend the panel’s mandate past this year,” the news outlet Politico reports.
“The disagreements over the future of the committee — even among its members — show the deep divides within Congress over how aggressive to be in handling the economic and security threats from China — and who should take the lead in addressing them. It’s just a taste of what’s to come if Donald Trump is elected president in November and moves unilaterally to impose much higher tariffs on China, as he’s threatened on the campaign trail.” — Politico
The TikTok bill meanwhile is now being taken up for debate and amendment in the Senate, which certain to make changes before sending it back to the House.
Assessing Gallagher’s impact
Gallagher led a bipartisan congressional delegation to meet with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, President-Elect Lai Ching-te and other top officials. “Taiwan must remain as it stands today, a candle burning freely, fiercely and improbably against the darkness," he said.
In December, the committee adopted a report outlining nearly 150 policy recommendations designed “to fundamentally reset the United States' economic and technological competition with the People's Republic of China.”
Gallagher used his position to:
Push Chinese biotech company Wuxi AppTec out of the US lobbying coalition Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), on allegations Wuxi has “close ties to the People's Liberation Army and Chinese Communist Party.” BIO switched from opposition to support for his proposed BIOSECURE Act which is aimed at walling Chinese companies out of the US biotech industry.
Warn of Chinese attempts to buy real estate near US military bases and pointed to “dangerous loopholes” in the CFIUS process.
Ask the Commerce Department to act against Chinese drone makers that have claimed 77 percent of the US hobby drone market and 90 percent of the commercial drone market.
Urge the Federal Communications Commission to prohibit US mobile device users from using GPS signals from Russian and Chinese satellites.
Raise alarm about Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. ship-to-shore cranes widely in use by US ports amid wider concerns about Chinese hackers attempting to compromise US infrastructure.
Reveal Chinese companies like Shein and Temu exploit the US Postal Service’s ‘de minimis’ rules that allow e-commerce giants to avoid US forced labor laws by sending small shipments direct to US consumers, according to a committee report.
Forced the United Arab Emirates artificial intelligence firm, G42, to sell its stake in Chinese companies including a $100 million stake in TikTok owner ByteDance.
Uncovered $3 billion in investments by US venture capital firms in Chinese technology companies, including many aiding the Chinese military, surveillance state, or the CCP's genocide in Xinjiang.
Challenged Ford Motor Co’s plan to partner with (CATL) to build a $3.5 billion Michigan electric vehicle battery factory. Ford announced it was scaling back its EV plans. The Biden administration is moving to block imports of Chinese EVs on national security grounds.
Duke Energy decommissioned a Chinese-made battery power storage system at the US Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and will install an American-made alternative, after receiving a letter from Gallagher. The Chinese company, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., (CATL) is the world’s largest maker of lithium batteries and was allegedly linked to the CCP.
Military provisions
Gallagher claimed credit for more than 11 legislative provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that collectively can be seen as preparation for war with China over Taiwan.
“We are in the window of maximum danger when it comes to a conflict with China over Taiwan. Ensuring our military has the resources to deter, and if necessary, win such a conflict must be our primary focus in Congress,” Gallagher said in a statement.
The House version of the NDAA:
• Requires an independent assessment of the Pentagon’s implementation of the ‘Pacific Deterrence Initiative’
• A report on the implementation of Sec. 1087 of the FY 2023 NDAA and the requirements for a persistent Joint Task Force or Joint Force Headquarters responsible for the operational employment of forces in the Western Pacific
• Requires for the Defense Secretary to engage the Ministry of Defense of Taiwan to strengthen military cybersecurity cooperation
• Congressional oversight to ensure the speedy implementation of a plan to fulfill the defensive requirements of Taiwan
• Requires a conventional ground-based missile deployment strategy in the Indo-Pacific
• Prohibits the Defense Department from using consulting firms that engage in “double dipping” by also consulting with the People’s Liberation Army or affiliated entities
• Requires an independent “building block” based assessment of the PRC defense budget to accurately assess overall PRC defense spending
• Requires a plan to integrate the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) with legacy aircraft fleets like the B-52 to enhance the ability of existing platforms to sink PLA ships
• Oversight of the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment concept in the Indo-Pacific, facilitating the rapid deployment and dispersal of Air Force assets in the event of a conflict
• Promote Taiwan’s defense cooperation with US partners facing similar security challenges
• Support for deployment of unmanned aerial, surface, and subsurface vehicles (drones) in the Indo-Pacific
Hearings
On January 30, the committee held a hearing titled, ‘Authoritarian Alignment: The CCP's Support for America's Adversaries’ featuring testimony from former CIA chiefs Mike Pompeo and Leon Panetta.
The committee has held 12 hearings on specific issues a ranging from the Uyghur genocide to the CCP’s transnational repression, and cyber threats.
Moolenaar replaces
Representative John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican, will replace Gallagher as the chair of the CCP committee after Gallagher departs. Eurasia Group said in a note to clients Moolenaar’s assumption of the committee’s gavel signals less urgency on China.
“Moolenaar, a relatively obscure fifth-term member of Congress, does not have a history of strong or outspoken views on China, making him in effect a placeholder chair for the remainder of the 118th Congress; his appointment signals that the urgency for committee action, including hearings and high-profile investigations will be lower over the summer and into the election.” — Eurasia Group
— William Roberts