By: Staff Writer, IndoUS Tribune

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), issued a series of strong statements this week targeting the Trump Administration’s foreign policy, domestic military threats, and response to escalating tensions in the South China Sea.

Krishnamoorthi sharply criticized what he described as the Trump Administration’s “gutting” of the State Department’s annual human rights reports, calling it a “gift” to Beijing and a betrayal of America’s values. The reports, in place for nearly 50 years, have served as key tools for documenting abuses, guiding sanctions, and supporting asylum claims. According to Krishnamoorthi, removing findings on forced labor, mass internment, and religious persecution “tells every dictator that America’s commitment to human rights is negotiable.”

The Illinois Democrat also condemned China’s latest maritime aggression after a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy destroyer collided with a China Coast Guard cutter during an attempt to intercept a Philippine Coast Guard vessel near Scarborough Shoal — inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. Calling it China’s first “friendly fire” maritime incident, Krishnamoorthi warned that the event marked a dangerous escalation in Beijing’s campaign to control disputed waters and urged China to “comply with international law and immediately end its coercive maritime actions.”

Domestically, Krishnamoorthi blasted former President Trump’s recent threat to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, labeling it “a reckless abuse of power” intended to distract from economic mismanagement and other controversies. He renewed his call for passage of the Stop Trump’s Abuse of Power Act, legislation he co-leads with Representatives Haley Stevens (MI) and Salud Carbajal (CA). The bill would amend the Insurrection Act to ensure that active-duty military forces can only be deployed within a U.S. state or territory at the request of that jurisdiction’s governor or chief executive — a safeguard, he said, to protect peaceful assembly and prevent the military’s misuse for political purposes.

“In each of these cases — whether on human rights, China’s aggression, or the misuse of U.S. troops — the stakes are high for America’s credibility, safety, and democratic values,” Krishnamoorthi said. “We cannot afford to be silent or complacent.”

The remarks come amid heightened U.S.–China tensions, ongoing debate over presidential powers, and renewed scrutiny of how America upholds its global leadership role on human rights and international law.