US lawmaker Ro Khanna defends calling witness ‘racist’ in explosive China committee clash

Ro Khanna, the ranking member of the US House Select Committee on China, has defended calling a witness “racist” during testimony last week over comments on Chinese-Americans who obtain US citizenship through birthright. The heated exchange took place during a June 25 hearing on economic espionage and subnational influence, where Khanna confronted Michael Lucci, founder of the Texas-based State Armor non-profit organisation, over a controversial social media post published in April. In the post,