Speaker Johnson Renews House Select Committee on the CCP

The committee has been renewed for a second term to continue work that the House speaker deems crucial.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) (L) and Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) (R), chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, during a press conference at the Capitol on Sept. 10, 2024. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Feb. 4 renewed the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party for a second term.

The House voted on Jan. 3 to renew the committee, which was created in January 2023 to address the “strategic competition” between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In July 2024, Johnson expressed his support for the renewal of the committee in the 119th Congress, and he released a statement via the committee on Feb. 4 that said the committee’s ongoing work is “crucial.”

He also praised the committee’s chairman, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.).

“Through his principled service in Congress, John has earned the respect of our House colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and we are pleased to announce that the committee will continue under his leadership during the critical 119th Congress,” Johnson said.

Moolenaar took over as the committee’s chairman in April 2024, when former Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) left Congress.

Members of the committee have introduced a host of China-related bills, including those aimed at screening Chinese investments, stopping Chinese companies from accessing U.S. tax benefits, incentivizing the divestiture of certain securities with China links, supporting Taiwan’s international space, sanctioning TikTok, reducing China’s dominance of critical mineral supplies, and pressuring the CCP over the use of forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region.

On Jan. 23, Moolenaar, along with Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), a member of the Ways and Means Committee and co-founder and chair of the bipartisan Congressional Uyghur Caucus, reintroduced a bill to suspend normal trade relations with China and codify higher tariffs on goods from the country. A companion bill was reintroduced in the Senate by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

On top of legislative efforts, the committee’s advocacy on China-related issues includes calling for the government to tighten chip restrictions, protect U.S. photonic chip technologies from Chinese threats and competition, designate certain companies as Chinese military companies, and restrict U.S. biotech companies from conducting clinical trials with entities linked to the Chinese military.

Johnson appointed 12 Republicans to the Committee on the CCP besides Moolenaar.

That includes eight existing members: Reps. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), and Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.).

Four newly appointed Republican members are Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Young Kim (R-Calif.),  Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), and Zach Nunn (R-Iowa).

Minority leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Feb. 5 reappointed Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) as the committee’s ranking Democrat member.

Other Democrat members of the committee include Reps. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), and new members Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) and Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii).

In a statement, Moolenaar thanked Johnson for his support and pledged to “advance policies that keep the United States strong and secure as we confront China’s increasing challenges to our national security.”

“[The CCP] represents the most significant national and economic security threat of our time,” he said, noting that he is proud to build on the bipartisan work of the last Congress.

“We are strengthening our efforts to combat the CCP’s growing influence around the world and protect our freedom and way of life.”