Washington, DC – As first reported in the Washington Examiner, today, House Indo-Pacific Subcommittee Chairwoman Young Kim (CA-40) led Subcommittee members in a letter demanding answers from Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink for his and the State Department’s unwillingness to engage with Congress on their high-level visits to the People’s Republic of China.
Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink was scheduled to testify before the Indo-Pacific Subcommittee on the State Department Budget for East Asia and the Pacific on June 14, 2023. He cancelled on June 12 due to upcoming travel to Beijing with Secretary Blinken later this week. The office also rejected members’ request to hear from Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink’s deputy.
On June 12, Chairwoman Kim and Ranking Member Bera sent a letter asking for more information about Kritenbrink’s recent trip to Beijing on June 4, the anniversary of Tiananmen Square.
“Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink could have easily testified to the Indo-Pacific Subcommittee as scheduled on Wednesday before his trip with Secretary Blinken two days later, on Friday. The State Department’s recent engagement with Beijing and refusal to comply with Congressional oversight only warrants questions about their strategy to assert U.S. leadership against the Chinese Communist Party,” said Chairwoman Kim. “The CCP’s recent moves toward the United States – from spy balloons to surveillance bases – cannot go unnoticed or unchallenged. I will continue to press for answers and transparency from this administration, so we can hold authoritarian regimes accountable and project strength on the world stage.”
Kim was joined by all Indo-Pacific Subcommittee Republican members, including Reps. Ann Wagner (MO-02), Ken Buck (CO-04), Mark Green (TN-07), Andy Barr (KY-06), Amata Radewagen (AS-At Large), Warren Davidson (OH-08), and Michael Waltz (FL-06).
