Ro Khanna, a California progressive who opposed the US congressional effort to force the Chinese divestment of TikTok, will replace Illinois Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi as the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Communist Party later this month.
The announcement, made by House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on Monday, comes eight months after Krishnamoorthi said he would run for a Senate seat that will be vacated by Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin. Durbin announced last April that he would not seek re-election in the November midterms.
Krishnamoorthi has served as the senior Democrat on the committee focused on competition with China since its inception in 2023 and has been a leading voice on China policy in the House of Representatives.
The Illinois Democrat was a key figure behind several measures targeting China that have become law, including the Biosecure Act, which restricts federal contracts with Chinese biotechnology companies, and a bill requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner to divest or face a ban in the US.
He is also a strong proponent of controls on the export of advanced semiconductors to China. Khanna, who represents a district that overlaps with Silicon Valley, has also been a committee member since the start.
In a statement on Monday, Khanna called for a new “economic patriotism”, echoing bipartisan scepticism in Washington over decades of trade policy towards China.
In New Year’s speech, Xi urges growth and vows ‘unstoppable’ Taiwan reunification
In New Year’s speech, Xi urges growth and vows ‘unstoppable’ Taiwan reunification
