Republican Gallagher to lead new U.S. House China select committee

Gallagher, a former Marine counterintelligence officer who has served on the House Armed Services Committee, has been a vocal critic of China's Communist government. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy had said he would create a select committee focused on China if he is elected speaker when Republicans take control of the House in January.

Republican U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher was named on Thursday to lead a select committee being created in the U.S. House of Representatives to focus on economic and security competition with China. Gallagher, a former Marine counterintelligence officer who has served on the House Armed Services Committee, has been a vocal critic of China's Communist government.

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy had said he would create a select committee focused on China if he is elected speaker when Republicans take control of the House in January. "The Chinese Communist Party is the greatest geopolitical threat of our lifetime," McCarthy said in a statement as he announced Gallagher's selection.